Iga's Aura Isn’t Gone

A year later, she enters in a decidedly different place. The fear factor the six-time Grand Slam champion created during her ruthless reign as the queen of the clay – a 40-3 overall record since her Parisian debut in 2019 and a whopping 14 sets won by 6-0 score – has been diminished. 

But not completely. 

Swiatek is still a four-time champion in Paris, and her difficult loss against Aryna Sabalenka that snapped her 26-match Roland-Garros winning streak in last year’s semifinals is the furthest thing from her mind. 

“I don't particularly think about last year,” she told reporters on Friday during her pre-tournament press conference. “Doesn't really matter.” 

True, the women’s singles draw may feel more wide open than in the previous three years, but Swiatek is still a force to be reckoned with. 

American Jessica Pegula agrees.

“I think those few years with Iga on clay were definitely tough, because she was the best clay court player that we had had, and she was so dominant on it,” Pegula said on Friday. “I don't know if she's lost any aura.

"She's still an amazing Grand Slam champion, multiple Grand Slam champion and has won on all the surfaces, so that's always going to be there.”

Without a clay court title since she last triumphed on Parisian clay in June of 2024, Swiatek says her mindset is more based on internal emotions, temporal ebbs and flows in confidence that are like the shifting terre battue beneath her feet. 

Last year, the Pole said, the stars just weren’t aligning. 

“My tournament in Rome was like a really cold shower, and I woke up cold,” she said, adding that this year is a completely different story. 

“I felt terrible on the court in Rome, so this year, after a couple of good matches, there is a more positive vibe. It's good to just have some really solid matches on your shoulders and start the tournament with that.” 

Will the WTA’s most dominant clay-court force since Justine Henin two decades ago return to pulsating form at the end of the fortnight? The six-time major champion is more concerned with staying focused and fighting for every point. 

“It's a bit different, but every year I say that every tournament is a different story, no matter if I won Rome, no matter if I lost in the second round. We still have time to kind of refresh, reset, and start the tournament from a totally different perspective.

“I think I will take good experience from this year's Rome, and positive feedback also after the matches. But still, this is a totally different tournament with different conditions, especially with the heat. So you need to be humble and start [the tournament] knowing that you're willing to fight for every match.”