The women’s draw for the 2023 French Open was released on Thursday with defending champion Iga Swiatek drawn in the same half as Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. While World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka faces a tricky path to win back-to-back Grand Slam crowns. In this article, we shall delve into the list of favorites, players to watch and dark horses to win the second Grand Slam of the season.
French Open 2023 Betting Tips & Predictions
Women’s Singles: Favorites to Win the 2023 French Open
The top half of the draw is where we begin and it has thrown up a potential episode No. 4 of the intriguing rivalry between Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina.
The two Grand Slam champions are due to meet in the semifinals should the seeds hold. Swiatek’s title is on the line in the next two weeks as is her No. 1 ranking which could be taken over by second seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Swiatek has yet to win a Slam or a WTA 1000 this season, with Doha and Stuttgart wins classified in the 500 category. She has lost six matches this season, with Rybakina accounting for half of them.
It would be a gripping matchup should it happen in Paris, it’s a surface Swiatek will hope it can even out the rivalry having missed out the chance to lay down a marker in Rome where she retired with a thigh injury against the Kazakh.
Swiatek has a great draw in the first week and provided she is fit enough to compete will be expected to make the second week where her title credentials will be tested.
Barbora Krejcikova is a potential fourth-round opponent. The Czech is another kryptonite for the Pole, known to problem-solve this rivalry having taken their last two meetings.
In the event Swiatek makes it through, she’ll play last year’s finalist Coco Gauff whom she beat handsomely before the probable titanic meeting against Rybakina.
Rybakina’s biggest stumbling block before the semifinals is Ons Jabeur, but there is the likelihood the Tunisian trailblazer won’t make it that far in Paris given the nature of her calf injury she picked up in Stuttgart. And just like last year when she lost at the first hurdle, Jabeur had some serial giant killers in her path including Sorana Cirstea, Petra Kvitova, and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Is there anyone who can stop Iga Swiatek in Paris? Possibly the one player who has done so three times this season.
- Women’s Singles Winner Prediction: Iga Swiatek
- Women’s Singles Winner Dark Horse Prediction: Elena Rybakina
Women’s Singles: Players to Watch at the French Open
Aryna Sabalenka is probably the biggest winner of the women’s draw which was released on Thursday.
Seeded at No. 2 and looking to win her second Major, Sabalenka has a seemingly tricky opener against the unseeded Marta Kostyuk.
Kostyuk, however, has zero wins against top-10 players in her career and that only harnesses Sabalenka’s chances of moving through their first-round bout.
Qinwen Zheng and Sloane Stephens lurk in Sabalenka’s quarter. But only one of them will earn the right to face Sabalenka in the round of 16.
Stepehsn – a quarterfinalist here last year is in excellent form coming to Roland Garros. She won the WTA 125K in Saint-Malo and is due to play the semis in Rabat at the time of writing.
But the American has never been a sure bet, so Qinwen Zheng might be assured of a fourth-round spot for the second year in a row. Last year, the Chinese rising star was the only player to take a set off Iga Swiatek in her title run, so Sabalenka could have her hands full should they meet.
- To Win the Tournament: Aryna Sabalenka
- To reach the Fourth Round: Qinwen Zheng
Women’s Singles: Dark Horses to Reach Second Week at the French Open
Jessica Pegula has reached the quarterfinals in four of her past five Grand Slams including at this year’s Australian Open in January. The American is a beacon of consistency at the big stage and she’ll be the favorite in her quarter to reach the last eight.
Potential dangers for Pegula include Danielle Collins whom she plays in the first round and the in-form Anastasia Potapova. Potapova is the second-highest seed Pegula could play in the round of 16.
At the top section of Pegula’s quarter is Maria Sakkari who is the American’s projected semifinal opponent.
Sakkari was a point away from making her first Grand Slam final in 2021 but lost to Barbora Krejcikova. She will take on Karolina Muchova – perhaps the toughest first-round of any seeded player at Roland Garros – for the second year in a row.
If, and a big if, the Greek survives that humdinger opener, she will be odds-on to punch her ticket to the quarterfinals.
- To reach the Quarterfinal: Maria Sakkari, Jessica Pegula
- To reach the Fourth Round: Anastasia Potapova
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