Day 4 preview: Swiatek puts 22-match French Open win streak on the line vs. Raducanu

Wednesday at Roland Garros features a sweet-and-savory 16 compelling second-round matches from the draw’s top half, including the Hologic WTA Tour’s reigning:

• World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka
• Three-time defending Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek
• Paris Olympic singles gold medalist Zheng Qinwen
• Rome champion and Roland Garros finalist Jasmine Paolini

It’s been 32 weeks since Sabalenka returned to the top of the rankings last fall, but it’s not something she dwells on.

Roland Garros: Scores | Order of play | Draw

“Of course it’s always been my goal to reach World No. 1 position,” Sabalenka told reporters. “But at this stage of the career, it doesn’t really matter. You have to improve your game and get better basically every day -- doesn’t matter if you're No. 1, 2, 3 or 10, you have to go out there and fight.”

And that’s just what they’ll be doing on Wednesday in Paris.

Here’s a look at the best of what’s on offer:

No. 5 Iga Swiatek vs. Emma Raducanu

Head-to-head: 4-0, Swiatek (8-0 in sets)

Swiatek captured her first Grand Slam at Roland Garros at the age of 19. Raducanu was 18 when she won the 2021 US Open. Swiatek has won four of the past five French Open titles, while the closest Raducanu has come to another major victory is the Round of 16 last year at Wimbledon.

“Everybody has a different path and different changes,” Swiatek said. “We played already couple of times, and we know each other’s game. But for sure, you know, she won the US Open. She can play great tennis -- I’ll be ready.”

Raducanu managed to win only one game the last time they met, back in January in the third round of the Australian Open, but the two matches on clay were quite close. Swiatek prevailed in Stuttgart last year 7-6 (2), 6-3. Two years earlier at the same venue it was 6-4, 6-4.

In the first round, Swiatek defeated Rebecca Sramkova 6-3, 6-3 -- giving her 36 main-draw wins here, the most of any current player -- while Raducanu was a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 winner over Wang Xinyu.

Swiatek has won 22 consecutive matches at the French Open. Despite her recent struggles beyond Paris, Raducanu isn’t expecting anything less than her best.

“I think for the Slams it’s also completely different for those top players,” Raducanu said. “They really kind of turn it on in the weeks that really matter. So she’s a great opponent. I’m not expecting any wavering of level.”

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. Jil Teichmann

Head-to-head: 1-0, Sabalenka, a 6-2, 6-1 win three years ago in Doha.

Sabalenka’s 6-1, 6-0 first-round victory over Kamilla Rakhimova was her 30^th in 31 matches against opponents ranked outside the Top 70. This is relevant because Teichmann is No. 97 in the PIF WTA Rankings.

In each of the past five years, Sabalenka has been through to the third round; she advanced to the semifinals in 2023 and the quarterfinals a year ago, losing to Mirra Andreeva.

Sabalenka has kicked up her service game this year -- she’s won eight matches without dropping a game on serve, the most of any woman. And she had five aces in the first round.

Teichmann, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over qualifier Lucrezia Stefanini, went to the Round of 16 here three years ago, her best effort in a Grand Slam.

No. 4 Jasmine Paolini vs. Ajla Tomljanovic

Head-to-head: 0-0.

After defeating Yuan Yue 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, Paolini admitted her intensity level dropped in the second set. She’ll have to stay on point against Tomljanovic, who cooled off Rabat champion (and fellow Aussie) Maya Joint with a 6-1, 6-3 first-round win.

Paolini, who reached her first major final here a year ago, has 10 match-wins at Roland Garros -- the most of any tournament she’s played. With the recent title in Rome, she’s now won seven consecutive wins on clay and equaled her best winning streak on any surface.

No. 8 Zheng Qinwen vs. Emiliana Arango

Head-to-head: 0-0.

Zheng was a straight-sets winner four years ago in qualifying at the W25 in Hamburg, but this is their first meeting at the tour level.

In the first round, Zheng was a straight-sets winner over 2021 Roland Garros finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Arango was a three-set winner over Alexandra Eala.

No. 12 Elena Rybakina vs. wild card Iva Jovic

Head-to-head: 1-0, Rybakina.

Jovic, also a wild card earlier this year at the Australian Open, fell to Rybakina 6-0, 6-3 in the second round.

Rybakina is coming off a title run in Strasbourg and playing with new confidence. She was a three-set winner over qualifier Julia Riera. Jovic also needed three sets to advance past Renata Zarazua.

Notable other matches

No. 11 Diana Shnaider vs. Dayana Yastremska

No. 13 Elina Svitolina vs. Anna Bondar

No. 16 Amanda Anisimova vs. Viktorija Golubic

No. 18 Donna Vekic vs. Bernarda Pera

No. 21 Jelena Ostapenko vs. Caroline Dolehide 

Danielle Collins vs. Olga Danilovic