Aryna Sabalenka warned she has already created a big problem for herself at Roland Garros
Aryna Sabalenka has suffered back-to-back early exits at the Madrid Open and the Italian Open and Andy Roddick believes it could cause a ‘ripple effect’ on the WTA Tour.
Sabalenka lost to Hailey Baptiste in the Madrid Open quarter-finals and she suffered an even earlier exit in the round of 32 to Sorana Cirstea in Rome.
The star will now have a long wait between her Italian Open exit and her first match at Roland Garros, as the tournament is set to begin on May 25th.
Andy Roddick believes Sabalenka’s recent form will have given a major boost to every top player on the WTA Tour, including the likes of Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Elena Rybakina.
Speaking on Served, Roddick said: “Like if you’re [Linda] Noskova and you’ve been playing well, are you going I can win Roland Garros? If you’re Kostyuk, are you going I can win Roland Garros? What this does is it will have Iga [Swiatek] going, ‘Okay, if I can just find some form, can I find something? I know how to do this.’
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“Aryna’s not playing her best. Coco [Gauff] is going, ‘Okay, maybe I can repeat this thing.’ You know, down the line for the women that are playing well. [Jessica] Pegula’s winning, matches, right? Is she going, ‘Maybe I got a shot.
“I think that’s the ripple effect from Sabalenka. It’s less about us worried about Sabalinka as a tennis player. It’s more the ripple effect of, and rightfully so, the rest of the two are going, if she’s not quite as perfect and good as she normally is, does that open the door for the rest of us 10 or 15%. And I think it does.”
Sabalenka is yet to win Roland Garros, although she did reach the final of the Grand Slam in 2025. The star was shocked by Gauff in the final, who took advantage of windy conditions to claim her first French Open title.
Despite the fact she has never lifted the trophy in Paris, Sabalenka has impressive recent form at the Grand Slam.
She has reached the quarter-finals or later at Roland Garros in each of the last three years. Despite her woes in Madrid and Rome, she will undoubtedly be one of the favourites to lift the trophy.
That is a sentiment mirroed by Roddick too. “I still think she’s the clear number one favorite going into Roland Garros,” said the 2003 US Open champion.
Although she might not be as feared as she was when she lifted the Sunshine Double, no one will want to draw Sabalenka in the early rounds of the Grand Slam.
