Aryna Sabalenka is a win away from claiming her maiden French Open title on a surface she struggled with during the early stages of her career.
The world No. 1 made her main draw debut at Roland Garros in 2018, but it wasn’t until five years later that she managed to make it through to the second week for the first time, reaching the semifinals. Last year she reached the quarter-finals before losing to Mirra Andreeva.
So far in her career, only three out of Sabalenka’s 20 WTA titles has been won on the clay, with all of them occurring at the Madrid Open. The event is played at a high altitude, which means the ball tends to travel faster compared to other tournaments held on the surface elsewhere.
Nevertheless, Sabalenka has been in solid form so far at this year’s French Open where she has dropped just one set in six matches played. That was against 2024 champion Iga Swiatek on Thursday.
“I have to say that for the clay I got better, much better physically. I think it’s really important on clay to be physically strong and ready to work for each point,” the 27-year-old said of her improvement on the clay.
“And, also, I work on the spin for the clay. I wouldn’t say that drop shots and slices are perfect for clay. I think it’s better for the grass court. But also, it seems like it’s working on the clay court.
“But I think mostly for the clay I improved physically, and also, I have more variety on the shots. Meaning, like, I can go flat, I can with the spin, I can go back and play in defence. That’s what works the best on the clay court for me.”
Standing in Sabalenka’s way of the trophy is Coco Gauff, who stormed past wildcard Lois Boisson in her semi-final match. The American has already played a final in Paris before but has only won one Tour-level title on the clay. That was at a WTA 250 event in Parma four years ago.
“It’s going to mean everything to me and my team because I have to say that almost like the whole life I’ve been told where [clay] is not my thing and then I didn’t have any confidence,” Sabalenka replied when asked what winning the French Open would mean to her.
“And in the past, I don’t know how many years we’ve been able to develop my game so much, so I feel really comfortable on this surface and actually enjoy playing on clay. If I’ll be able to get this trophy, it’s just going to mean the world for us.
“Yeah, I’m ready to go in that final and to fight, fight for every point and give everything I have to give to get the win.”
The duo are currently tied at 5-5 in their head-to-head with Sabalenka winning their most recent meeting in straight sets earlier this year at the Madrid Open.
Saturday’s French Open final will be the first time the two highest-ranked players in the WTA rankings have faced each other for the title since 2013 when Serena Williams played Maria Sharapova.
