While Rafael Nadal has dominated the men’s side of the French Open over the last 15 years, we have not seen similar domination on the women’s side. No one has won the French Open more than twice since Justine Henin-Hardenne won three times in four years at Roland Garros between 2003 and 2006. Furthermore, the last five winners of the French Open have all been first-time winners, so there’s a good chance we see a new champion this year.
The 2021 French Open will run from May 30, 2021 to June 13, 2021. It will take place at historic Roland Garros in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.
THE FAVORITE
Iga Swiatek
Poland’s Iga Swiatek is the defending champion at the French Open. She won this tournament at the age of 19 last year, and she will turn 20 at the end of May. Swiatek is currently the No. 9 ranked player in the world after dominating the field in Rome two weeks ago. She beat Elina Svitolina, Cori Gauff, and Karolina Pliskova in straight sets on her way to winning the Internazionali BNL D’Italia. Her victory over Pliskova was extremely impressive as she double bageled her opponent in the finals 6-0, 6-0.
THE CONTENDERS
Ashleigh Barty
Barty is currently the No. 1 ranked player in the world. She elected not to go to Roland Garros to defend her 2019 French Open title due to COVID, but she is in great form this year. Barty has already won three titles in 2021.
However, there is reason to be wary. Barty suffered a strained muscle in her serving arm in Rome, leading to her quitting her quarterfinal match with Coco Gauff after winning the first set. She hasn’t taken the court since retiring from that match.
Garbine Muguruza
The 2016 French Open champion is currently the No. 13 ranked player in the world. After a rough 2018 and 2019, Muguruza is playing great tennis once again. She reached the final of the 2020 Australian Open, and she won the Dubai Open earlier this year. Muguruza made it to the semifinals of the 2018 French Open, but she hasn’t made it past the fourth round in each of the last two years.
DON’T THINK ABOUT IT
Serena Williams
The queen of women’s tennis still has a powerful serve, but she no longer has a lot of side-to-side mobility. Williams no longer has the stamina to survive long rallies, and she runs out of gas over the course of two-week tournaments. While the 23-time grand slam winner is a legend with two decades of dominance, she hasn’t won a grand slam since 2017 and will turn 40 in September.
Bianca Andreescu
We have yet to see Andreescu perform well at the French Open. She has never made it further than the second round and didn’t participate in any grand slam events last year. Although Andreescu is one of the most talented players in the world, winning the 2019 US Open, she was bounced in the second round at the Australian Open in February. With that recent track record, it’s hard to have a lot of faith in Andreescu.