Ukraine, Poland, Switzerland mark national records at Roland Garros

A record number of Ukrainian, Polish and Swiss women have reached the third round of this year's Roland Garros.

The 2026 clay-court swing has been a celebration of Ukrainian tennis from the start, when Yuliia Starodubtseva reached her first career final in Charleston. Two weeks later, Rouen saw the first all-Ukrainian final in WTA history, with Marta Kostyuk defeating Veronika Podrez for the title. Kostyuk backed that up with her first WTA 1000 trophy in Madrid, and Elina Svitolina completed the Ukrainian clay-court WTA 1000 sweep by reclaiming the Rome title for a third time. Last week, Anhelina Kalinina also made her third career final in Rabat.

The Ukrainian squad have kept it up in Paris, with their achievements all the more poignant given that their country remains under attack from Russia. Four Ukrainian players have reached the third round -- Svitolina and Kostyuk extended their winning streaks to eight and 14 matches respectively on Wednesday, before Starodubtseva scored the biggest upset of the tournament so far -- and her first Top 10 win -- by edging No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina in a deciding tiebreak. On Thursday, No. 65-ranked Oleksandra Oliynykova joined her compatriots, also coming through a deciding tiebreak to defeat Kimberly Birrell 6-3, 0-6, 7-6[5].

Oliynykova, who made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the Australian Open, is competing at Roland Garros for the first time. Her father, Denis, serves in the Ukrainian army but over the past week has been able to watch his daughter play live for the first time in two years while on leave.

It's the first time that four Ukrainians have made the Roland Garros third round, and the second time at any Slam following the 2024 Australian Open -- where Lesia Tsurenko reached the third round, Svitolina the fourth round, Kostyuk the quarterfinals and Dayana Yastremska the semifinals. That tournament also marks the current national record of three Ukrainians in the fourth round of a major.

The quartet will seek to break that record over the next two days as Svitolina faces Tamara Korpatsch, Kostyuk takes on Viktorija Golubic, Starodubtseva goes up against qualifier Wang Xiyu and Oliynykova bids for her second career Top 30 win against No. 25 seed Diana Shnaider.

Poland has also set a new record this week. No. 3 seed Iga Swiatek and Magda Linette had already delivered a first for their country with their second-round wins on Wednesday: they will play each other next, marking the first time two Polish players have faced each other in the third round or beyond at a major. Qualifier Maja Chwalinska -- Swiatek's partner to the 2017 Australian Open junior doubles final -- joined them on Thursday, upsetting No. 23 seed Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-0 to back up her first-round victory over Zheng Qinwen of the same scoreline. It's the first time that three Polish women have made the third round of any major.

Indeed, Chwalinska has been in ruthless form in Paris so far. She has delivered a 6-0 set in four of her five matches -- the exception was her 7-6(4), 7-5 win over Suzan Lamens in the final qualifying round -- and conceded just 23 games in total. The 24-year-old had only won one Grand Slam main-draw match before this week, making the second round of Wimbledon 2022, but dominated Mertens with her drop shot for her first career Top 50 win.

Though the Australian Open has twice seen a Polish duo in the last 16 -- Marta Domachowska and Agnieszka Radwanska in 2008, then Swiatek and Linette in 2023 -- that has yet to occur at any other Slam. At least one is guaranteed at Roland Garros, the winner of Swiatek and Linette; Chwalinska will need to keep her run going against Maria Sakkari.

Perhaps the most surprising new national record this week belongs to Switzerland, a nation with a long history in the sport that has produced five Top 10 players to date. But this is the first time that three have reached the third round of any major at the same time. That record was sealed on Wednesday with victories for No. 11 seed Belinda Bencic, Viktorija Golubic and Jil Teichmann.

Bencic and Golubic are both on career-best runs in Paris. Two-time major semifinalist Bencic is in the third round for a third time, and will bid for a second-week debut against Peyton Stearns. Former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Golubic has made the third round of Roland Garros for the first time in her ninth main-draw appearance at the age of 33, and faces Kostyuk next.

Teichmann's best Grand Slam showing was her fourth-round run at Roland Garros 2022, the same year that she reached her career high ranking of No. 21. The 28-year-old took a seven-month mental health hiatus between September 2025 and April this year, and is now ranked No. 170; Roland Garros marks the sixth tournament of her comeback. She'll take on No. 10 seed Karolina Muchova next.

If two of the Swiss trio win their next matches, it will mark the first time that two Swiss players have made the second week of any major since Wimbledon 2015 (Bencic and Timea Bacsinszky), and the first time at Roland Garros since 2006 (Martina Hingis and Patty Schnyder). If all three win on Friday, it will mark another new national record.