The ‘Queen of Clay,’ Iga Swiatek, hasn’t been in great form this season. After her early exit from the Italian Open at the hands of Danielle Collins, she admitted she “wasn’t present to fight and compete“. Swiatek has already realized that she has been “doing something wrong” and at this moment it’d be “stupid to expect a lot” for the upcoming French Open. Swiatek has won 22 titles in her career so far, and 10 out of them have come on clay, including four French Open titles (out of her overall 5 major triumphs). Despite such dominance on this surface with an 89% win record, her recent form has made American legend Chris Evert a bit concerned about her chances at the French Open this year. She said, ” I just don’t know if she can find her A game.” But America’s Coco Gauff was recently spotted weighing in on the Pole’s prospects at the 2025 Roland Garros amid her struggle for form. What did she say?
Owing to her drop in performance, Iga Swiatek will now drop out of the Top 2 of the WTA Rankings for the very first time since 2022. She’s yet to win a title since clinching the French Open in June last year. (In fact, she has failed to reach a WTA Tour final since she won her fourth Roland Garros title.) As things stand, Swiatek is set to drop to number 4 in the Live Rankings after failing to defend her 1000 points at the Italian Open. In fact, she can also move to number 5 if Jasmine Paolini wins the title here in Rome. If we take a look at her performance on clay this season, Swiatek lost to Ostapenko in the QF of the Stuttgart Open this year, and then in Madrid, Coco Gauff surprisingly defeated her in straight sets (6-1,6-1).
Why surprising? Well, Gauff has a 4-11 record against the Pole and on clay, Swiatek is always a favorite no matter who’s on the other side. After her win in Madrid, Gauff said, “When you’re playing someone like Iga, at any moment she can come back and play great tennis. So for me, it was just making sure my level stayed the same.” Even after her recent win against Emma Raducanu (6-1,6-2) in the R16, she was asked to reflect a bit on Iga Swiatek’s drop in form and if this means a chance for other players to have a shot at the titles on clay. To this, the American’s reply was, “Yeah, I mean, I think for sure it changes some things when you maybe see someone who won Roland Garros that many times not having the best results. Women’s tennis is two-out-of-three sets. It’s not, like, a big difference for (indiscernible). I think it definitely gives players a lot of confidence when they come to face her.”
But she also added, “You also have to respect that she’s a four-time champion at Roland Garros. I always think if someone wins a tournament that many times, regardless of what shape they’re in, they can definitely figure out a way to win again. If I were to play her at the French Open, I would throw away the results in Madrid, not even think about it, expect her to play her best tennis.” Is it the first time that we’ve seen Gauff heaping praise on the former world number one?
Coco Gauff says if she played Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros, she would throw away her Madrid result & expect her to play her best, ‘If someone wins a tournament that many times, regardless of what shape they’re in, they can figure out a way to win again’
“Iga has been so… pic.twitter.com/nqjfPoXk8p
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 13, 2025
Well, even in 2023, ahead of their SF clash at the China Open, Coco Gauff had said, “Everybody who plays her, no matter the game style, you have to be prepared to run and just be ready for everything. She’s in the position she is for a reason, she’s one of the best players in the world for a reason.” She has a lot of respect for the Pole, and these statements are just prime examples of it, but how does Gauff take these rivalries? Does it help her excel in her own game?
Coco Gauff shares her thoughts on having a strong rivalry to chase excellence
Despite not having a fair record against the Pole, interestingly, Coco Gauff has a more impressive record (5-5) against the current world number one, Aryna Sabalenka. According to the 21-year-old American, rivalries like these keep her going. In a recent interview, she was asked to share her thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz’s comments on him needing Jannik Sinner on the Tour. Her reply to this was, “Definitely, it’s super important. I can definitely agree with that. But honestly, especially on the women’s side of the game, I feel like there’s so much depth so it’s not only just the top three players. Every match has someone pushing you to be better, and when you’re at the top, people tend to play better against a higher-ranked player. I was one of those players that did that.“
Coco Gauff has a win-loss record of 22-7 this season. Although she came closer to winning the Madrid Open this year, eventually she had to go down to Sabalenka in straight sets. Her prime goal for this season is to win “another slam,” and American tennis legend Andy Roddick looks quite impressed with her performance ahead of the French Open. He highlighted a few tweaks in her game where she is seen opening up the shoulders and going to the forehand, etc., and then he added, “Also, once she opens up that one down the line, that traffic is going back to her backhand. And I feel like she is in total control of her game, maybe for the first time since she won the US Open.”
Talking about French Open picks, Steve Johnson showcased a fair bit of optimism with Gauff’s chance at the next major event. Chris Evert kept Sabalenka slightly ahead of Swiatek and Gauff, but Jon Wertheim looks a bit concerned with Iga Swiatek‘s title defense at Roland Garros. On one side, Swiatek will start her preparations for the French Open, and on the other side, Coco Gauff will be taking on the 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the QF of the Italian Open. Although she has a 3-0 record over the Russian, Andreeva has been in good form this season. Who’ll win that mega duel?
The post “Throw Away the Results,” Coco Gauff Ignores Iga Swiatek’s Madrid Fate as She Bows Down to Her Roland Garros Dominance appeared first on EssentiallySports.