Holder Swiatek faces tough challenge to French Open dominance

BERLIN : Four-times French Open champion Iga Swiatek will face a serious challenge to her dominance of the tournament this month, with the former world number one going to Paris on the back of a disappointing season so far.

Poland's Swiatek, who has dropped to fifth in the world rankings, has so far failed to win a title this year despite a few deep runs in tournaments, including the Australian Open semi-finals.

The 23-year-old has already lost nine matches this season - as many as in all of 2024 - while she has not reached a claycourt final ahead of her bid to retain the French Open.

A one-month doping ban late last year may have played its part with Swiatek having tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine in August 2024.

She returned to action in October after the International Tennis Integrity Agency accepted the explanation that Swiatek's positive test was caused by contamination of her sleep medication melatonin.

Winner of the last three French Open crowns, Swiatek has been lacking the punching power and precision that have seen her claim five Grand Slam titles and she has failed to make any mark on clay this year ahead of Paris.

A semi-final spot in Madrid was her best showing before an early exit in Rome added to her season's troubles earlier in May.

But Swiatek has been more effective on the Paris clay than any female player of the past two decades and her early arrival in the French capital last week, more than 10 days before the tournament starts, showed she is serious about retaining her title and getting her season back on track.

It will not be easy though with world number one Aryna Sabalenka the most consistent of all the top players with three titles so far this season and another three finals.

Sabale