Roland Garros 2023 Report (Women)

Over the past ten editions, no fewer than fourteen (!) different women have reached the Roland Garros final, and for that reason, it was a matter of waiting to see who would take home the title at Roland Garros 2023. The big favorite was, of course, world number one Iga Światek , who had already won the tournament twice before (in 2020 and 2022). However, with the entire world top ten and former Roland Garros finalists Jelena Ostapenko, Sloane Stephens, Marketa Vondrousova, and Barbora Krejcikova, among others, there were plenty of contenders.

Regarding Dutch participation, there was one ace to watch out for at Roland Garros 2023. Arantxa Rus, the current highest-ranked Dutch player, qualified for the main draw through qualifying and was therefore placed against Julia Grabher in the first round. It was a match Rus undoubtedly expected more from, as the tournament was over for the Dutch player after an hour and a half. Grabher, ranked 61st in the world, defeated our compatriot with a score of 6-2/6-3.

Highlights Roland Garros 2023

That the women's tournament at Roland Garros 2023 was once again full of surprises was clear from the very first round. One seed after another was eliminated at this stage of the tournament. Five players from the top 15 of the seeding list alone had to leave Roland Garros 2023 in the first round. Maria Sakkari (WTA-8) lost to Karolina Muchova, Krejcikova (WTA-13) had to concede defeat to Lesia Tsurenko, and Elina Avanesyan defeated Belinda Bencic (WTA-12) in three sets. Round one was also the end for Petra Kvitova (WTA-10) after a defeat to Elisebetta Cocciaretto, and it was also over for Veronika Kudermetova and Viktoria Azarenka, among others, who lost to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Bianca Andreescu, respectively.

In the next round, it was game over for Caroline Garcia. The French player was defeated in her home country by Anna Blinkova in three sets. Madison Keys (WTA-20) was surprisingly eliminated by Kayla Day, and former finalist Ostapenko lost to Peyton Stearns. In the third round, Roland Garros 2023 had to bid farewell to both the third and fourth seeded players. Belgian Elise Mertens proved too strong for Jessica Pegula (WTA-3) with a 6-1/6-3 score, and Elena Rybakina, the fourth seed, unexpectedly had to withdraw from her match against Sara Sorribes Tormo. Rybakina, a winner in Indian Wells and Rome in 2023, was ill and was deemed unfit to play.

Strong comeback Svitolina

Meanwhile, having reached the round of 16, Elina Svitolina was still in the tournament. The former top-ten player was making a comeback after her pregnancy, and the Ukrainian showed at Roland Garros 2023 that she was still capable of playing well. Svitolina proved too strong for the likes of Storm Hunter, Blinkova, and Daria Kasatkina and was drawn to face Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. The Belarusian proved too strong in this encounter, winning 6-4/6-4. Furthermore, in the same round, Muchova defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Swiatek won her match against Coco Gauff, and Beatriz Haddad-Maia defeated Tunisian Ons Jabeur, making the semifinals Sabalenka versus Muchova and Haddad-Maia versus Swiatek.

While Swiatek dispatched her Brazilian opponent in just over two hours of tennis, the match between Sabalenka and Muchova was a thrilling affair. The first set surprisingly went to the Czech player Muchova via a tiebreak, while the second set – again via a tiebreak – was won by Sabalenka. Sabalenka, the heavy favorite going into this match, then took a 5-2 lead in the deciding set and seemed poised for victory, but Muchova had other ideas. The Czech player survived a match point, won five games in a row (7-5), and after more than three hours of tennis, earned the title of 2023 Roland Garros finalist with a stunning victory over the in-form Sabalenka.

Roland Garros Final 2023

The final of the 2023 Roland Garros women's tournament, between Swiatek and Muchova, was also a feast for the eyes. Swiatek won the first set comfortably, 6-2, but Muchova fought back again, winning the second set 7-5, forcing a third and deciding set to determine the winner of Roland Garros 2023. Muchova seemed to be gaining momentum and quickly took a 0-2 lead in this deciding set, but Swiatek – the long-time world number one – wasn't satisfied and quickly recovered. She overcame the deficit to take a 3-2 lead, fell behind again (3-4), but then dominated the key points and secured her third Roland Garros victory by also winning the third set 6-4.