Iga Swiatek achieved the rare feat of winning a third successive French Open women’s title with a comprehensive victory over Italian 12th seed Jasmine Paolini.
Poland’s Swiatek continued her recent dominance on the Roland Garros clay with a 6-2, 6-1 win against first-time major finalist Paolini.
The world No.1 trailed by an early break but instantly hit back, winning 11 of the next 12 games for victory.
This was the 23-year-old’s fourth title in Paris and a fifth grand slam triumph overall after her victory at the 2022
US Open.
“I love this place, I wait every year to play here,” said Swiatek, who won in just 68 minutes.
She is the third player after Justine Henin (2005-07) and Monica Seles (1990-92) to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup three years in a row since tennis turned professional in 1968. She is also the youngest player in the Open era to win four titles at Roland Garros.
After sealing victory in a little over an hour, Swiatek dropped to her knees before dancing around the court.
Congratulating Swiatek in her runner-up speech, Paolini said: “To play you here is the toughest challenge in this sport. Today (Saturday) was tough, but I’m really proud of myself.”
Coming into the clay-court major, everyone wondered who could stop Swiatek from winning the title again. Former world No.1 Naomi Osaka came the closest, troubling the Pole with powerful returning and holding a match point in their second-round encounter before the top seed turned
it around.
Few people gave Paolini any hope of causing what would have been an almighty shock. After a sloppy start, Swiatek found her rhythm, crushing Paolini in a performance that showcased her authority on the red dirt.
The Italian had never gone past the second round at one of the four most important tennis tournaments until reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open in January. She will play in the women’s doubles final on Sunday
with partner Sara Errani against Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova.
In the men’s doubles final on Saturday, El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo and his Croatian partner Mate Pavic — ninth seeds — beat Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-5, 6-3 for their first grand slam as a pair.
