Rybakina, Sabalenka have emerged as bona fide French Open contenders

Is a third French Open title in the cards for Iga Swiatek? On paper it should be, as the 20-year-old is ranked No. 1 in the world and is already a two-time champion at Roland Garros. However, Swiatek retired from her Rome semifinal match against Elena Rybakina, so there is some cause for concern. It may have been a precautionary move with a Grand Slam on the horizon, but you never know.

Regardless, Swiatek is not in dominant form. Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka are both on fire and can certainly challenge Swiatek in Paris even if the top-seeded Pole is 100 percent physically.

Here are my three best bets on the women’s side.

Elena Rybakina

Nobody wants to be on the same side of the draw as Swiatek, but if there is one player who can handle it that player is Rybakina. In advance of what would be a semifinal showdown at Roland Garros, Rybakina leads the head-to-head series 3-1–including 3-0 this season. The Kazakh has reached the final in two of the last three slams, with a title at Wimbledon last summer followed by a runner-up showing at the 2023 Australian Open.

Aryna Sabalenka

Sabalenka secured her first slam title by beating Rybakina in the Aussie Open final. That result just may send the Belarusian off to the races. She has remained in fine form since, with a runner-up showing in Indian Wells (lost to Rybakina) followed by one clay-court title in Madrid (defeated Swiatek) and a clay-court runner-up result (lost to Swiatek). As the No. 2 seed, Sabalenka is in the bottom half of the Roland Garros draw opposite Swiatek and Rybakina. That in itself pretty much means you have to like her chances.

Jessica Pegula

Speaking of good draws, Pegula is sitting nicely in the bracket. Seeded fourth, the American would not face Sabalenka until the semifinals and would not run into either Swiatek or Rybakina until the title match. It is true that Pegula is better on hard courts than clay, but recent results on the slow stuff include a semifinal in Charleston and a quarterfinal in Madrid. The 29-year-old is playing well enough to capitalize on a favorable draw.

[yop_poll id=”258″]
[yop_poll id=”238″]