Four-time French Open champion Iga Świątek stunned tennis fans on social media by revealing she hit the clay courts of Paris with ATP World No. 61 Alejandro Tabilo in the final stretch of her 2025 Roland Garros prep.
While most WTA players stick to sparring with fellow tour competitors, Świątek raised eyebrows by pushing her boundaries with the Chilean southpaw just days before her title defense begins.
Iga Świątek Will Make Her Seventh Appearance at Roland Garros
The Polish tennis star is entering Roland Garros as the fifth seed. Her drop in ranking follows a third-round exit at the 2025 Italian Open, where she was toppled by American Danielle Collins, 1-6, 5-7.
That loss, coupled with the 935 ranking points she failed to defend from last year’s Rome title, bumped her out of the WTA top 3 for the first time in over three years, down to World No. 5 as of mid-May. The dip in ranking saw her fall behind Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and new Italian Open champion Jasmine Paolini.
Despite the setback in Rome, Świątek arrived in Paris determined to reset the tone. The 2025 edition marks her seventh run at the clay-court Major, and she’ll begin her campaign on May 25 against Rebecca Šramková, whom she previously defeated 6-0, 6-2 in the 2025 Australian Open second round.
Amid her preparations, Świątek posted a candid snapshot on her Instagram stories, shortly after a grueling training session with Tabilo, captioning it:
“I’m dead. Thanks for the practice.”
The post immediately sparked a wave of online commentary. One fan on X joked: “She gets bored with WTA and now going for ATP.”
she gets bored with wta and now going for atp https://t.co/og8vknymm7
— martuś🫶🏼 (@martussxv) May 23, 2025
Another added, “She gonna beat novak now i’ve seen the vision,” referring to Tabilo’s 2-0 record against 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
she gonna beat novak now i’ve seen the vision
— ray (@miIkrollcake) May 23, 2025
“Tabilo???Go girl!” a user wrote.
Tabilo???Go girl! https://t.co/w4uGNYOfnj
— Gosia (@Gosia_CzBradf) May 23, 2025
While some fans were stunned, others lauded Świątek’s boldness and commitment. “@iga_swiatek practicing with Tabilo ahead of @rolandgarros is next level commitment. LEGEND,” one user wrote.
Another echoed the sentiment, simply calling her decision “Legend. New level, new standards.”
Iga Świątek Issues Fierce Warning to French Open Opponents Ahead of Title Defense
At the 2025 French Open draw ceremony, Iga Świątek admitted her season has been marked by inconsistency but affirmed her confidence heading into Roland Garros.
“I mean, obviously (I’m ready to win the 2025 French Open). Everybody’s here to win you know. I’m working hard to be ready and to play as good tennis as possible. For sure, this season has had more ups and downs than the years before,” the Pole said.
The former World No. 1 acknowledged past struggles while stressing the need to better apply her skills in matches.
“But my game is there. I just need to figure out how to use it in the most important moments and in the best way during the matches, and that’s it. But you know, tennis is sometimes a complicated sport, but we should make it easy in our heads. So, I’ll just start step by step,” Swiatek added.