Sabalenka keen to make a statement, Swiatek searching for answers: five WTA clay storylines going into Roland Garros

Following consecutive WTA 1000 clay-court tournaments, the Mutua Madrid Open and Internazionali BNL d’Italia, comes five storylines ahead of Roland Garros. Here's what we're taking away going into Paris:

1. Aryna Sabalenka: Keen to Make a Statement

Excellent yet frustrating are two words that describe world number one Aryna Sabalenka’s 2025 campaign. There have been title runs on three continents—Australia (Brisbane), North America (Miami), Europe (Madrid). But there have also been tough losses in finals—the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Stuttgart. Add it all up, though, and Sabalenka remains the player to beat. Sabalenka’s career reveals the power of self-awareness and the attendant capacity for change. The younger Sabalenka made a lot of noise with everything from her strong groundstrokes to highly expressive demeanor. In recent years, the latter has calmed down considerably, Sabalenka constantly revealing increasing maturity.

As she said in Rome, “Some of the finals I lost were really heartbreaking and were really tough to kind of like accept. At the same time I understand that sometimes you just have to learn and sometimes you're not that good on court, you just have to accept, learn from that loss, and come back stronger. What I'm actually proud of that I was able to come back in those finals and I was able to change things and see if the lesson was learned, try to bring better tennis in the next final.” With those kinds of comments and her exceptionally forceful arsenal, Sabalenka has much in place for a good run at Roland Garros.

2. Coco Gauff Continues to Reveal Her Greatest Talent

Billie Jean King has many great sayings. “Pressure is a privilege” is the title of a popular book authored by King. “Champions adjust” is also very familiar. Here’s one lesser known, but highly relevant King quote worth applying to Coco Gauff: “Persistence is a talent.” To watch Gauff go about her business is to witness that principle applied thoroughly and impressively. It doesn’t matter how many instructors and coaches I’ve spoken to who have their own take on how to fix her forehand. What dare we say about someone who double-faulted 15 times in a gritty semifinal victory?

What matters most is that Gauff reached the finals in Madrid and Rome. In Madrid, Gauff’s notable victories included Belinda Bencic, Mirray Andreeva, and Iga Swiatek, the latter in commanding fashion, 6-1, 6-1. In her last four matches in Rome, Gauff handily defeated Emma Raducanu, beat Andreeva to take a 4-0 lead in their rivalry, persisted for nearly four hours to squeak past Zheng Qinwen in a third-set tiebreaker, but then, in the finals versus Jasmine Paolini, was unable to effectively assert herself, losing 6-4, 6-2.

Speaking after the Rome final, Gauff said, “Definitely proud of the two results, but also disappointed. It's a bittersweet feeling. Jasmine played great tennis today. Unfortunately I felt like I didn't bring my best, which I knew I needed today.” Still, back-to-back finals, along with a runner-up showing at Roland Garros three years ago, should give Gauff plenty of confidence this year in Paris.

3. Iga Swiatek: Searching for Answers

A sharp sense of urgency and has been the key to Iga Swiatek winning five Grand Slam singles titles. But over the last 11 months, those very qualities appear to have rebelled. Over the course of this year’s clay court season, Swiatek has been beaten badly by Jelena Ostapenko, Gauff and Danielle Collins. All are great players, but to see Swiatek competing in such a distraught way is jarring. Most notable is her lack of comfort in the transition area of the court, a weakness that compels her to overhit groundstrokes. Nor have I ever been a fan of her truncated and stiff service motion—a motion I believe under pressure makes the serve’s direction both obvious and hittable. And so the downward cascade continues. One hopes Swiatek can give a much better account of herself in her quest to win a fourth straight Roland Garros title.

Four radical suggestions: Purge the entire coaching team. Hire a trusted friend to handle logistical matters related to equipment and practice. Return to the starting court that every player has and rediscover that ten-year-old who simply loved hitting tennis balls. Play doubles again with the eternally optimistic Bethanie Mattek-Sands (they reached the Roland Garros final in ‘21). And though Swiatek now appears likely to be seeded fifth in Paris, triggering all sorts of dialogue about theoretically treacherous matchups, I’ll pose the question I always ask when seeding is discussed: Do you think such champions as Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Chrissie Evert, or Martina Navratilova ever gave a rip what they were seeded?

4. Jasmine Paolini Finding Her Form Once Again

A year ago, following 17 appearances at the majors, Jasmine Paolini had only once reached the round of 16. Then came an incredible June and July, Paolini going all the way to the finals at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Holding on to a spot in the Top 10 is not easy for a newcomer. Following that Wimbledon effort, Paolini went ten months without reaching a final. Then came Rome, where she played excellent tennis to get past six formidable opponents: Lulu Sun, Ons Jabeur, Jelena Ostapenko, Diana Shnaider (rallying from a set and 4-0 down), Peyton Stearns and Gauff in the final to earn the joint-biggest title of her career. When playing her best tennis, Paolini reminds me of an upbeat Simona Halep. “Yeah, it's pure joy,” she said following the final. “It's a dream to win in Rome, of course, I don't know for every maybe kid that's playing in Italy. It's amazing. I'm really happy about it.” Once Roland Garros gets underway, it will be intriguing—better yet, fun—to see how this happy warrior builds off her Rome run.

5. Past US Open Champs Taking Forward Steps

It’s been pleasing to see past US Open champions Emma Raducanu (’21), Bianca Andreescu (’19) and Naomi Osaka (’18 and ’20) take a few steps forward this spring. Raducanu was ranked outside the Top 60 as ’25 began. In Rome, she won three matches and has now made her way into the Top 50. Will her growth as a competitor and healthy athlete continue? After adding Tennis Channel commentator Mark Petchey to her team, will the Raducanu coaching carousel at least slow down?

Andreescu played great tennis in Rome, earning wins over Donna Vekic and Elena Rybakina. Long plagued with injuries, Andreescu has altered her training regimen and should, at least theoretically, be in a place to play her brand of exceptionally versatile tennis.

And Osaka, in her quest to improve her clay court skills, took a page from the Andre Agassi playbook by entering a lower-tiered event in Saint-Molo. Winning that title, Osaka subsequently won three matches in Rome—and also while in Rome shared new insights about what it would take for her to succeed on clay. “For me, I feel like I didn't know this before,” she said, “and I think I talked about it a little bit last year, but I feel like clay is very strength-reliant. I realized that going into the corners, just like pushing off, you need a lot of muscles to do that. I never realized that before. It's something that I prioritized this year and I think it's working.”