4 incredible Grand Slam milestones highlight improved WTA consistency at French Open

The French Open has seen plenty of high-quality tennis this year, but comparatively few upsets.

Recent years on the WTA Tour – and in the Grand Slams – have been defined by inconsistency, with plenty of huge names losing early, and a fair few surprise major winners.

But there has certainly been a shift in recent months, led by defending Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek , and the main draw of the women’s singles highlights that perfectly.

The quarter-final line-up in Paris is stacked, with the very biggest names in the sport all still battling for the title.

And the success of the top names has led to four surprisingly long-standing milestones being reached, across French Open history – but also across all four majors.

Top 4 seeds all reach French Open QF – first time since 2013

Victory for Aryna Sabalenka over Emma Navarro on Monday meant that the second seed followed top seed Swiatek, third seed Coco Gauff , and fourth seed Elena Rybakina into the last eight.

Usually, the top four seeds at a Slam would likely all be among the leading contenders in the latter stages, but this hasn’t always been the case at Roland Garros, with some huge surprises in recent years.

In fact, this is the first time since 2013 that all four of the top seeds in the women’s draw have made it to the last eight in Paris.

Eleven years ago, top seed Serena Williams , second seed Maria Sharapova, third seed Victoria Azarenka, and fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska all reached the quarter-finals.

Radwanska was ultimately the only one not to reach the semi-final, with Williams beating Sharapova in a #1 vs #2 battle in the final.

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All four top seeds reached projected QF in top half – first since 2007

There have been no major surprises in the women’s singles so far, particularly in the top half of the draw – where things have gone exactly as projected regarding the quarter-final line-up.

As the seedings indicated, top seed Swiatek will face fifth seed Marketa Vondrousova , while third seed Gauff is up against eighth seed Ons Jabeur .

This is the first time since 2007 that the four projected quarter-finalists have all reached that stage of the tournament from the top half of the women’s draw in Paris.

On that occasion, top seed Justine Henin beat eighth seed Williams in their quarter-final, while fourth seed Jelena Jankovic beat sixth seed Nicole Vaidisova.

Henin ultimately won the title, claiming a third straight title and fourth crown overall – the same milestones Swiatek looks to emulate this year.

All reigning major champions reach QF – first since 2012 US Open

Reigning Roland Garros champion Swiatek, Wimbledon winner Vondrousova, US Open champion Gauff, and Australian Open winner Sabalenka are all still in the draw at the last eight stage.

That is a rare feat, with the 2012 US Open being the last time that the four separate champions of the major events all reached the last eight of the same Grand Slam.

At Flushing Meadows that year, defending champion Sam Stosur lost to Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in the last eight, while Wimbledon champion Williams ultimately triumphed in New York, and Roland Garros winner Sharapova reached the last four.

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Five major champions in a Slam QF – first since 2013 Australian Open

The four reigning Slam champions are joined in the last eight by Rybakina, who herself is a former Slam champion – having won Wimbledon in 2022.

That means there are five major winners in the last eight of a Slam draw for the first time since the Australian Open 11 years ago.

Williams, Azarenka, and Sharapova were joined by Svetlana Kuznetsova and Li Na in the last eight in Melbourne, with Azarenka later beating Na in the final for her second Australian Open crown.