WTA French Open Winners and Losers: Iga Swiatek cements No 1 status as Aryna Sabalenka falls flat – and scheduling debacle shames tournament

A dramatic and at points controversial French Open women’s draw ended on Saturday, a generally surprising tournament unsurprisingly ending with the most predictable of results.

You would have been hard-pressed to find someone who did not predict Iga Swiatek to win the title and the Pole ultimately claimed her fourth Roland Garros crown, cementing her status as one of the best female clay courters ever.

But outside of the world No 1, there are plenty of other players leaving the French Open feeling positive – though there are few who will be rueing missed chances.

We look at the biggest winners and losers from the women’s draw.

Big Winners

Iga Swiatek: What else needs to be said that hasn’t already? Swiatek matched the highest of expectations to win her fourth title, saving a match point along the way. She could dominate this event for years to come.

Jasmine Paolini : A one-sided final should not detract from how impressive Paolini’s breakthrough run was, with a quarter-final win over Elena Rybakina a particular highlight. She’ll reach a deserved career-high of world No 7 on Monday.

Mirra Andreeva : Teenage star Andreeva became the youngest Grand Slam semi-finalist in 27 years with her epic run. She’ll have learnt plenty from her campaign and will be ranked inside the top 25 next week.

Ons Jabeur : After a drab 2024 season, Jabeur came to life at Roland Garros, playing her best tennis of the year to embark on a strong quarter-final run. She’s regained her confidence just in time for her beloved grass.

Varvara Gracheva: Having switched from Russian to French citizenship last year, Gracheva won over her adopted nation with an emotional run to round four. She looks set to become a fan favourite in Paris.

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Big Losers

Aryna Sabalenka : Illness affected Sabalenka’s French Open hopes, with the second seed’s Slam semi-final streak ending to Andreeva in the last eight. She’ll drop to No 3 on Monday and will have a tougher Wimbledon draw because of that.

Elena Rybakina : The world No 4 is so impressive on tour but defeat to Paolini means she hasn’t reached a major semi-final since Australia last year. She and coach Stefano Vukov need to work out a way to improve her Grand Slam form.

Maria Sakkari : The Greek is a mainstay in the top 10 but has not reached the second week of a Slam since the 2022 Australian Open. There is a significant mental block that she needs to overcome somehow.

Danielle Collins : The US star has been riding high in her final season on tour, but failed to serve out her round two match before falling to a dramatic three-set defeat. This could have been a missed chance to go deep at her final Roland Garros.

All WTA Players: Women’s matches occupied every opening ‘graveyard’ slot on Court Philippe Chatrier, while never once playing a night session match. Tournament organisers need to do better with scheduling in the future.

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Winner….and loser?

Coco Gauff : Gauff will deservedly be world No 2 after a hugely impressive 12 months capped off by a return to the French Open semi-finals. But, that last four showdown showed she still has a huge Swiatek problem, and the gap between the two seems to be growing in the Pole’s direction.

Naomi Osaka : Former world No 1 Osaka got tight as she tried and failed to close out her epic round-two match against Swiatek, but it was by far the best match she had ever played on this surface. Watch out for her across the summer.