Five top contenders for the French Open women's crown

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Five top contenders for the women's title at the French Open, which starts on Sunday. IGA SWIATEK (POLAND)World number one Swiatek is the favourite to defend her crown on the Parisian clay but the odds of her success will depend on whether she has fully recovered from a thigh injury, which forced her to retire from her quarter-final match in Rome.The Pole has contested four finals this year, winning titles Qatar and Stuttgart prior to her injury in Rome, and she enters the claycourt major having held her position as the top-ranked player for 60 consecutive weeks.

ARYNA SABALENKA (BELARUS)After winning her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, Sabalenka established herself as a serious contender at the French Open in recent weeks by beating Swiatek in the Madrid Open final, shortly after losing to her in the final in Stuttgart.The continuing evolution of Sabalenka has seen her win three titles this season and she arrives in Paris with the highest winning percentage in 2023.

The powerful and big-hitting Belarusian has often stumbled in the latter stages at the highest level but having found a measure of control, the 25-year-old is ready to challenge for major titles.

ELENA RYBAKINA (KAZAKHSTAN)Rybakina won the biggest claycourt title of her career in Rome and made her top five debut this week as she continues to raise the bar since winning Wimbledon last year.After finishing runner-up at the Australian Open, winning the title at Indian Wells and reaching the final at the Miami Open, the Moscow-born Kazakh is now eyeing the biggest prize on the claycourts of Paris.