WTA Rankings: Iga Swiatek’s No 1 status on the line at Roland Garros
Iga Swiatek appears to be under more pressure as world No 1 than at any other time during her reign.
Swiatek will be back at her happy hunting ground but could lose her top ranking to Aryna Sabalenka.
Given that she has 2000 points to defend, the bar is set high for Iga Swiatek whereas Sabalenka seemingly has less pressure as she has never progressed beyond the third Round in Paris.
Aryna Sabalenka, who is ranked No 2, or Swiatek will leave Paris with the top spot.
During Roland Garros, Swiatek will move out to 62 consecutive weeks as world No 1 but she will have to work hard to make that 63 weeks.
Last year in Paris, she defeated Coco Gauff to win her second championship.
Swiatek enters the French Open with 8,940 points following successful title defenses this season at Doha and Stuttgart, as well as runner-up results at the WTA 1000 tournaments in Dubai and Madrid.
Sabalenka has consistently reduced the point differential across the 2023 season to date.
She heads to Paris with a total of 7,541 points after claiming three WTA tournament wins this season, including her maiden Major trophy at the Australian Open in January and her first WTA 1000 title of the year at the Madrid Open.
Sabalenka has not yet progressed past the third Round in Paris in her previous five main draw appearances in Paris.
She only needs to defend 130 in a carryover from her third-round showing from the previous year. However, Sabalenka must also defend an additional 180 points earned from her second-place performance at the ‘s-Hertogenbosch grass-court event due to a change in the schedule that has pushed Roland Garros back by a week this term.
Sabalenka is out to become the 29th women to hold the status of WTA Tour No 1.
In order to have a chance of retaining the No.1 ranking, Swiatek will need to reach at least the quarterfinals at the French Open.
Should Swiatek lose before the quarterfinals, then Sabalenka will take over as World No.1 on Monday, June 12, after Roland Garros.
If Sabalenka reaches the Round of 16 or quarterfinals, then Swiatek would need to reach the last four to have a chance of staying No 1.
Should Sabalenka reach the last four, then Swiatek would need to reach the final to stay at No 1.
In the event that Sabalenka goes all the way to the final, Swiatek will then only hold on to No 1 only by winning the title.
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