But she is yet to beat Rybakina on clay, retiring in the third set of their 2023 Rome quarterfinal and suffering a three-set loss to the Kazakhstani in last year’s Stuttgart semis.
“It’s tough to play against Iga on clay. She spins the ball really well. She has unbelievable intensity on the court, so it is not easy,” Rybakina assessed.
“I feel like Stuttgart, it’s special tournament because it’s indoor. The clay is also different. In Rome, it was again another condition, so I cannot take it as everything is the same.
“She plays really well. She moves really well on the court. So it’s going to be difficult one.”
In their only previous Slam meeting, Rybakina beat Swiatek in straight sets at the same stage of Australian Open 2023. Rybakina went on to reach her second major final that fortnight, after triumphing at Wimbledon in 2022.
Could this be the first time, since she won her first Roland Garros title in 2020, that Swiatek does not enter a match at this venue as the favourite?
“Of course she’s very comfortable on these courts. But… I will try to focus on myself mostly,” Rybakina said.
“We played so many times. I know what to do. We’ll see how it goes. But definitely I will do my best.”
Beware the Strasbourg champion
Because of her serving prowess, clean-hitting power and Wimbledon title, Rybakina is widely considered a bigger threat on faster surfaces.
Yet she has historically thrived on clay.
Her first WTA singles title, in Bucharest, came on clay, as have her two most recent WTA titles. Her first Grand Slam quarterfinal came at Roland Garros in 2021.
Should she beat Swiatek, this would be her third trip to the last eight in Paris.
And her victory in Strasbourg bodes well, considering the tournament is a strong predictor of success in Paris. In the past six years the Strasbourg champion has never fallen before the third round at Roland Garros; in 2021 Barbora Krejcikova scooped both titles.
Sam Stosur, the 2017 Strasbourg winner who flew into the second week in Paris before a fractured hand bought her undone against eventual champion Ostapenko, explained why.
“Very similar conditions [in Strasbourg], courts are very similar. The centre court there’s beautiful to play on. If it’s raining in Paris, it’s probably raining in Strasbourg,” Stosur said on this week’s episode of The Tennis.
“It’s just a nice, easy week to guide yourself into a Grand Slam. Rybakina form also this year hasn’t been outstanding, by her standard or level, so to win a title coming into a Grand Slam is always going to boost that confidence.
“If the conditions are right for Rybakina, that’s going to be another tough one. So big, big test for Iga coming up.”