Swiatek equals Chris Evert's record: 'Clay demands patience'
Iga Swiatek beat Sara Bejlek 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of Roland Garros and equalled Chris Evert's record. The Pole now has 23 wins in a row on Slam clay, the third round is next.
- Iga Swiatek beat Sara Bejlek 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of Roland Garros.
- She equalled Chris Evert's Open Era record with 23 wins in a row on Slam clay.
- The Pole has won the Roland Garros trophy three times and is chasing a fourth title.
- In the third round she meets Magda Linette, her countrywoman.
After beating Sara Bejlek, Iga Swiatek sat on the bench, pulled out a towel and started to cool off. The towel had to be swapped immediately, because the heat on Philippe-Chatrier had crossed thirty degrees.
The Pole, having won the match, walked through the corridor straight into the press centre. Chris Evert’s Open Era record of 23 wins in a row on Slam clay was equalled in the last two points of the match.
Speed and alternating patience
Against Bejlek it was 73 minutes of play. Swiatek in the first set lost two break points but each time recovered through long rallies.
Clay demands patience. Bejlek is a girl with a big future, she played bravely and at one point forced me to change tempo, Iga Swiatek said for WTA TV.
In the second set the Pole won a break point in the fourth game, then played service games as if it were training. The end of the match arrived without difficulty.
Numbers that carry history
Swiatek’s statistics heading into the third round speak for themselves.
- 23 wins in a row on Grand Slam clay, equalling Chris Evert’s record
- 3 Roland Garros titles from 2020 to 2024
- 36 wins from 38 matches on Slam clay in her career
- 17 wins in a row against players outside the ATP top 50
- 6 times in a row through the first round of a Slam without losing a set
The third round, with Magda Linette as opponent, marks the first proper home duel. The Polish atmosphere in Paris always works in Swiatek’s favour.
What follows after Linette
The winner of Swiatek vs Linette plays in the fourth round against the winner of Vondrousova vs Andreeva. The semi-final, if five wins in a row come, brings her into a probable meeting with Aryna Sabalenka, the WTA tour leader of the season.
The draw placed Swiatek in the bottom half, so she doesn’t face Coco Gauff directly before the semi-final. The American is in the top half as the second seed.
A season she enters with motivation
Iga Swiatek went four months in the 2025/26 season without a big title. After wins in Rome and Madrid in May, the Pole arrived in Paris as the first favourite of the women’s draw.
The Polish coaching team shifted her preparation toward physical strength before the season. After a winter camp, Swiatek trained her conditioning daily, which shows in her second serve and in longer rallies against highly-ranked opponents.
I naturally feel at home on clay, but until this Paris I never entered with such calmness. I play slowly in the first few games, I wait for the opponent, I don’t force the speed, Swiatek added at the press conference.
Sabalenka in the race
Sabalenka follows every Swiatek match in Paris from her residence in Monte Carlo, where she has been staying with family. The Belarusian won three tournaments through the year, but did not match the Pole’s tempo.
The next chance for a head-to-head is the Roland Garros semi-final. Before that, Sabalenka has to clear her side of the draw, with Coco Gauff as a possible opponent in the quarter-final.
The Pole already knew how she would set up against Linette by the time of tomorrow’s match. The tennis world holds its breath over Paris this weekend.
Will Swiatek set the record outright above Evert, or will Linette in the third round turn a family duel into the first real disturbance for the Pole?
