Iga Swiatek needs a break.

Whether that is a break in her bad luck, or even a short break from tennis, is up for debate.

The Pole heads into the French Open having not won a WTA Tour-level title since her triumph at Roland-Garros last year.

Swiatek has found so much joy on the Paris clay in the past, winning four of her five grand slam titles at the French Open, that a return to her home from home might be just what she needs.

But for the first time in several years, Swiatek is certainly not heading into the season's second major as the favourite.

That tag surely falls on world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who fell short of a record-equalling third straight title at the Australian Open, but has rediscovered her best form in recent times.

There are other names in the mix, though. Jasmine Paolini, last season's runner-up, heads to the French capital on the back of a win at her home event at the Italian Open, where she also triumphed in the doubles.

Coco Gauff, the beaten finalist in Rome, has reached back-to-back finals over the past few weeks, while Zheng Qinwen won Olympic gold at Roland-Garros last year, and teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva is enjoying a brilliant campaign.

Here are the key storylines ahead of the French Open women's singles.

Swiatek aims to stop the rot

Swiatek seemed well primed at the Australian Open in January, yet since her semi-final loss to eventual champion Madison Keys in Melbourne, it has been a slippery slope for the 23-year-old.

She reached the semi-finals in Qatar, but lost to Jelena Ostapenko, who later dumped her out of the last eight in Stuttgart. Between those defeats to the Latvian, Swiatek lost to qualifier Alexandra Eala in Miami and Andreeva at both Indian Wells and in Dubai.

And unfortunately for the Pole, she could be on a crash course with Ostapenko, who she has a 0-6 record against in Paris, as they have landed on the same side of the draw.

A semi-final loss to Coco Gauff in Madrid was followed by an early exit at the hands of Danielle Collins in Rome, and Swiatek is now ranked outside of the top two in the WTA rankings for the first time since March 2022 - a run of 165 weeks.

But if there is one place where Swiatek could turn things around, it is Roland-Garros.

Swiatek is aiming to become the first woman in the Open Era to win the French Open singles title for four consecutive years, and just the third player overall, after Jeanne Matthey (1909-1912) and Suzanne Lenglen (1920-1923).

Indeed, should Swiatek retain her crown, she will be just the third woman in the Open Era to win at least four successive titles at the same major, after Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon (six between 1982-1987) and Chris Evert at the US Open (four between 1975-1978).

Only Margaret Court (95.2%, 20-1) holds a better winning percentage at Roland-Garros in the Open Era than Swiatek (94.6%, 35-2), while just Evert (29, 1974-1981), Monica Seles (25, 1990-1996) and Justine Henin (24, 2005-2010) have reeled off more consecutive main-draw match wins at the event than Swiatek (21, dating back to the start of the 2022 tournament).

No active player has won more main-draw matches at the French Open than Swiatek (35). She may be out of form, but she knows how to make magic happen in Paris, where she also scooped Olympic bronze last year.

Sabalenka smelling blood?

While Swiatek has floundered, Sabalenka looks even more sure of herself as world number one.

Sure, her defeat to Keys in Melbourne was a huge blow, but Sabalenka has recovered to win a further two titles, triumphing in Miami before she won the Madrid Open for the third time (only Rafael Nadal has collected more titles at that event).

Sabalenka has also reached two further finals, and though she was knocked out by Zheng in the quarters in Rome, she looks sharp.

The 27-year-old, whose three major triumphs have all come on hard courts, is the second player in the Open Era to win her first three clay-court titles in a Grand Slam, Tier I or WTA-1000 event (all in Madrid) after Serena Williams. 

Sabalenka was shocked by Andreeva in the last eight at Roland-Garros last year, with her best run at the French Open coming when she reached the semi-finals in 2023.

In the Open Era, the top seed in the women's singles at Roland-Garros has lost in the opening round only once, with Angelique Kerber falling to Ekaterina Makarova in 2017

Sabalenka has won most matches in 2025 (34) and only Elina Svitolina (12) has more on clay this season than the world number one (11, level with Coco Gauff).

If there is a time for Sabalenka to end her French Open wait, then with Swiatek in a slump, surely this is it.

The photographers the shot#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/PGsChI6CTf

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 23, 2025

Paolini's passion and Gauff's grit

Paolini has enjoyed a fantastic last 12 months, even if she did fall short in successive grand slam finals, losing to Swiatek at Roland-Garros last year before going down to Barbora Krejcikova in the Wimbledon final.

But the 29-year-old heads to Paris on the back of a glorious win over Gauff in the final of her home WTA 1000 event in Rome, and she is now up to four in the world, above Swiatek.

Paolini followed up Sunday's singles triumph by winning the doubles at the Italian Open, becoming the sixth player in the Open Era to win both the singles and doubles titles at the event. 

She is only the third woman this century to win her maiden clay court title in Rome, after Jelena Dokic (2001) and Williams (2002).

In fact, Paolini is just the second player in the Open Era to win the singles title at the Italian Open after turning 29, after Williams (2013, 2014 and 2016).

So, this fiery Italian is a force to be reckoned with, but who else is in the mix?

Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, has reached back-to-back finals, becoming the youngest player since 2009 to reach the final in both Madrid and Rome.

Though she has lost them both, the young American is showing the kind of grit that she displayed during that triumphant run at Flushing Meadows. 

Gauff came out on top in an epic semi-final against Zheng at the Italian Open, in what was the longest match at the tournament (three hours, 14 minutes).

She reached the semis at the 2024 French Open and made the final two years earlier, though she does count last year's doubles title at Roland-Garros among her honours.

Zheng, meanwhile, won Olympic gold at Roland-Garros in 2024, and finally has some form back after her victory over Sabalenka in Rome, which was her first career victory over the Belarusian at the seventh attempt.

Keys upset the odds at the Australian Open, and cannot be discounted. 

The American could become the fourth woman since 1990 to win the first two major titles of a season, after Seles (1991 and 1992), Jennifer Capriati (2001) and Williams (2015).

In the Open Era, only Court in 1973 and Williams in 2015 have won the first two grand slam titles of a WTA season after the age of 30.

Andreeva is a ferocious talent who is well worthy of her place in the top 10, while Ostapenko is a former champion on the orange clay. Emma Raducanu, meanwhile, has been stringing some decent runs together, though a potential second-round tie with Swiatek means the draw has not been kind to the 2021 US Open champion.

But as Keys proved in Melbourne, the women's singles can be thrown wide open by an underdog, so expect the unexpected.