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Former Czech-American tennis player Martina Navratilova has weighed in on Iga Swiatek's chances of claiming the 2023 French Open. According to Navratilova, Swiatek is the clear favorite to take home the women's singles title as long as her injured thigh holds up and there are no unforeseen health complications.
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek's quest for a fourth career Grand Slam will take off at the 2023 French Open on Sunday at Roland Garros. The 21-year-old from Poland has two French Open titles, which she won twice in 2020 and 2022, and a US Open Title, which she bagged in 2022.
Iga Swiatek gets her campaign underway when she faces Cristina Bucsa of Spain in her first-round match.
Navratilova gave her thoughts on the Pole's chances in the tournament.
"It all hinges on her health," Navratilova said in an interview with WTA. "From what I'm hearing, the [thigh] injury is not that bad. If she's 100 percent healthy, then she's the odds-on favorite. It's Iga versus the field. If she's not, then it's wide open."
"And Sabalenka and Rybakina, they would be the favorites to win," added Navratilova. "No doubt about it, the way they've played on the clay. All those players should be pretty confident coming in, with Swiatek having the most if her body is 100 percent. I mean, we could have a surprising winner, but chances are it will be one of the three."
Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have the opportunity to win the French Open title. Both players have got the better of Iga Swiatek this year. Sabalenka defeated Swiatek in the Madrid Open final, and Rybakina stopped the Pole's progress in the Italian Open quarter-finals, a title she went on to win.
Iga Swiatek looks to become the first three-time Roland-Garros champion since Serena Williams
Should the Polish World No.1 Swiatek emerge triumphant at Roland-Garros, she will become the first three-time champion since Serena Williams achieved the feat eight years ago. The 21-year-old could face reigning Grand Slam title holders Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka in her quest to retain the silverware.
With Rybakina in Swiatek's half of the draw, she could meet the Kazakh, who has bested her three times this year, in the semi-finals. Sabalenka, too, has had a good run on clay this year, reaching the finals at Stuttgart and winning the Madrid Open by beating Iga Swiatek.
Having had to withdraw due to injury in the most recent match-up played against Rybakina in the Rome quarter-finals, the top-seeded Swiatek will do well to focus on her first-round game against Spaniard Cristina Bucsa.
Bucsa took a sole game off the World No. 1 when the pair clashed in the third round of the Australian Open this year. Iga Swiatek leads in their head-to-head clash 1-0 and is all but certain to win their second face-off.
