The Roland Garros final is set for Saturday. World No.1 Iga Swiatek is a win away from capturing her fourth French Open title and fifth Grand Slam title overall.
Standing in her way is Italy's Jasmine Paolini, the 12th seed who has surprised everyone, including herself, en route to the biggest final of her career.
Here's what you need to know ahead of Saturday's high-stakes showdown:
When is the women's singles final?
The women's singles final will be played at Roland Garros on Court Philippe Chatrier on Saturday, June 8 at 3 p.m. (9 a.m. ET):
Paris is on Central European Summer Time (GMT +2).
What are the points and prize money at stake?
Roland Garros is the second Grand Slam of the season. By making the final, Swiatek and Paolini have assured themselves 1,300 points and €1,200,000.
The winner will earn 2,000 points and €2,400,000.
By making her first major final, Paolini will make her Top 10 debut on the PIF WTA Rankings on Monday. She will be either the highest-ranked Italian since Roberta Vinci at No.7 or, if she wins the title, since Sara Errani in 2013 at No.5.
How did Swiatek and Paolini get here?
Swiatek was a point away from bowing out in the second round to Naomi Osaka, but the two-time defending champion escaped to win 7-6(1), 1-6, 7-5. Since facing that match point, Swiatek went on to win 52 of her next 66 games.
34 - Iga Swiatek has become the player with the fewest matches played at Roland Garros in the Open Era to secure 34 main draw wins (36, level with Chris Evert). Start.#rolandgarros | @rolandgarros @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/wirjXPZrPa
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) June 6, 2024
After a straight-sets win over Marie Bouzkova in the third round, Swiatek laid down a 40-minute demolition on Anastasia Potapova, winning 6-0, 6-0. Swiatek followed that up by defeating two reigning Grand Slam champions, easing past No.5 seed Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2 and No.3 seed Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals.
The win over Gauff extended her active win streak to 18 matches (she swept the titles in Madrid and Rome) and her win streak at Roland Garros to 20, putting her into a third consecutive Paris final. Since ascending to No.1 in 2022, she is now 16-4 against Top 10 opposition.
20 - Iga Swiatek is the fifth player in the Open Era to secure 20+ consecutive Women’s Singles main draw wins at the French Open. Inexorable.#rolandgarros | @rolandgarros @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/RRZLv5lLhT
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) June 6, 2024
Before this year, Paolini had never made it past the second round in Paris. In fact, 12 months ago, she was in Markaska, Croatia playing a WTA 125. But she's continued to build on her breakthrough season, one which saw her win the biggest title of her career in February at the WTA 1000-level Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Insider Podcast: Paolini dishes on her Polish roots and hard-court evolution in Dubai
Paolini went into her first major semifinal as the hardest-working player of the final four. She has spent nearly nine hours on court. After straight-set wins over Daria Saville and Hailey Baptiste to start the tournament, she came through a trio of three-set victories, beating Bianca Andreescu, Elina Avanesyan and No.4 Elena Rybakina. Paolini's win over Rybakina was her second Top 10 win of the season.
Paolini saved her best for the semifinals, handling the moment and her opponent with ease to beat 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 6-1 and become the first and youngest Italian woman since Sara Errani in 2012 to make the Roland Garros final.
What milestones are at stake on Saturday?
Swiatek, 23, is bidding to win her third straight French Open title and fourth overall. It would be her fifth major title, after 2020, 2022 and 2023 Roland Garros and the 2022 US Open. A win on Saturday would break her four-Slam tie with Osaka, making her the player under 30 with the most Grand Slam titles on either the ATP or WTA Tours.
Swiatek could become the first player, man or woman, born after 1990 to hold five major titles. Currently, the youngest active player with five or more Slam titles is 37-year-old Novak Djokovic.
4 - Iga Swiatek is the second youngest player in the Open Era to make their fourth Women’s Singles final at the French Open, older only than Steffi Graf in 1990. Recurrence. #rolandgarros | @rolandgarros @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/ebIW1JUjRZ
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) June 6, 2024
Swiatek is looking to win her tour-leading fifth title of the season and 22nd overall. She already swept Madrid and Rome, and she could become the first player since Serena Williams to sweep the three biggest clay-court titles in a single season. She could also become the 15th player in the Open Era to save match point en route to a Grand Slam title.
Insider Podcast: Swiatek's late-night dash through the streets of Rome
Paolini, 28, is into her first major final and looking to win her second title of the season and third of her career. Her best result on clay before this year was a runner-up finish at the WTA 250 in Palermo last year.
Paolini is the first Italian to reach a major final since Roberta Vinci at the 2015 US Open and the first at Roland Garros since her doubles partner, Sara Errani, in 2012. She is bidding to become the first Italian to beat a reigning World No.1 in a WTA final. If she succeeds, Paolini will deliver Italy its first women's champion since Flavia Pennetta at 2015 US Open and first at Roland Garros since Francesca Schiavone in 2010.
How do they stack up?
Head to Head
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This will be the second tour-level meeting between Swiatek and Paolini. Swiatek beat Paolini 6-3, 6-0 in the first round of the 2022 US Open and went on to win the title.
They also played at an ITF 80K in Prague in 2018 when Swiatek was 16. Swiatek won 6-2, 6-1. She has not lost more than three games to Paolini in a match.
What are they saying?
Paolini: "I was dreaming to become a professional, and I never dreamed to be No.1, Grand Slam champion. Never dreamed so big. Never. Never maybe dream to be in the Top 10, but I was hoping, but not really believe it.
"I think step by step I started to believe, but to dream, but for closer things. Not too far. I think it's not so positive because I think it's important to dream, but I started to dream step by step.
"It's unbelievable to see Jannik [Sinner] when he was 15 years old say that his dream was to be No.1, and for me it's something different. I never dreamed to be in a Grand Slam final, and I'm here. I'm so happy, but it's something different. I'm a different kind of person I think."
One win away from the three-peat 🗣#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/blolSgUuDu
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2024
Swiatek: "Sometimes, yeah, it's hard not to see what's at stake and what the atmosphere is around these matches. So still I'm not used to it. It's not the routine. But on the other hand, when I'm really focused on work and on my tennis, I can kind of make it a routine because that's easier way to do it, I think.
Flattered by the Rafa comparisons 🤭@iga_swiatek | #rolandgarros pic.twitter.com/4uGiXydVzT
— TENNIS (@Tennis) June 6, 2024
Paolini: "When I'm not smiling, it means that I'm not feeling great. My coach is always worried when I don't smile in the practice, in the match. He said to me always to enjoy, to smile because it's important for myself, for me as a person. So just, you know, smile and take it easy."
Sara Errani picked the song and Jasmine Paolini loved it 😅💃#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/XSiEfbgJRb
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2024
Swiatek: "[Paolini and I] played a long time ago, so I need to prepare tactically and see what her game is at now because for sure she's playing -- she has [her] best season, so she must have changed something."
Paolini: "Iga is unbelievable player, as I said. So young, but so many achievement and Grand Slams. Here she won three times. She's doing well week by week, and that's not easy.
"So I have huge respect for her, but my goal is to step on court Saturday and try to enjoy the match and to enjoy that moment and to try to play a good match and to make a good performance on court."
