2025 French Open: Iga Swiatek beats Rybakina to reach quarter finals

Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrated her victory against Elena Rybakina. The match was a thrilling three-set battle. Swiatek, the defending champion, reached the French Open quarter-finals. She started poorly, winning only one of the first nine games. However, she rallied to win 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.

This victory marked Swiatek's 25th consecutive win at the French Open. She aims for her fifth title in six years. "She really pushed me," said Swiatek after the match. "In the first set, I felt like I was playing against Jannik Sinner." She added that she needed to find her game and was happy with her performance.

Swiatek will face Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals next. Svitolina defeated Jasmine Paolini with a score of 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1. Later, top seed Aryna Sabalenka beat Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals as well. Sabalenka became the first player to reach ten consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals since Serena Williams.

Swiatek is known as the 'Queen of Clay' due to her success at Roland Garros. However, she faced questions about her form before this tournament. The five-time Grand Slam winner has not won a title since last year's French Open.

Typically fast out of the gate, Swiatek struggled early in this match. Rybakina quickly took a commanding lead of 5-0. Swiatek saved two set points but lost the first set in just 35 minutes.

Rybakina continued strong at the start of the second set, going up 2-0 and winning eight straight points. The turning point came when Rybakina missed an easy overhead smash. This mistake allowed Swiatek to break back and eventually take the second set 6-3.

In a tightly contested final set, both players traded breaks of serve. Ultimately, Swiatek secured a crucial break to go up 6-5 and won with a powerful forehand winner.