Fear no opponent but respect every opponent! Well, that has been the main mantra behind the rise of one of the greatest rivalries in the WTA at the moment. When we speak about the  Swiatek-Sabalenka rivalry looking at their records in the recent past, we see Iga Swiatek has clear dominance over Aryna Sabalenka by an 8-3 margin. In fact, this is what led some of the fans to put up a question mark on this rivalry. But what makes a rivalry turn into one of the biggest rivalries in the sporting world?

Respecting each other is surely one side of it, but pushing your rival to become better by your own performance is what truly defines a real rivalry. Sabalenka believes Iga Swiatek has definitely motivated her a lot to get better in a lot of aspects of her game. But what does Aryna Sabalenka have to say about Iga Swiatek’s dominance at the French Open? “She is bigger than me but I mean I guess the answer is just not focusing on that. I mean I’m focusing on myself on my not like own goals but on things I have to improve and get better. So that I have a chance against her on the court and especially here at the Roland Garros, ” Aryna Sabalenka.

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have now held the top two spots in the women’s singles ranking for quite some time now. But when it comes to French Open, well there is just one name that has been running the headline for the past few years. Iga Swiatek has won four Grand Slam titles so far in her season and three of them came at the French Open. Sabalenka went on to add, “She achieved incredible results here at Roland Garros, and I take it as a challenge, and I like to accept tough challenges. That’s what actually motivates me and brings me more energy to keep going, to keep fighting for what I think I can achieve.”

Rafael Nadal’s dominance brought him the title of ‘King of Clay’. Iga Swiatek has now also earned the ‘Queen of Clay’ title for her thumping results on the clay courts of Paris. Although the last time when they met each other in Rome, Aryna Sabalenka said, “I hope we’re going to make it to the final in Roland Garros. And I’m going to get you there.” But Sabalenka has said that she doesn’t want to get too obsessed over beating Iga Swiatek. Instead, she wants to put more focus on becoming a better tennis player. What does Iga Swiatek have to say about this rivalry?

“I feel like it’s a challenge” – Iga Swiatek speaks about her rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka

Earlier Iga Swiatek was spotted dismissing the narrative that she is the “good one” in tennis and Aryna Sabalenka is the “bad one” stating that they have great respect for each other. In fact, she also said that they are very kind to each other as well. But when it comes to facing Aryna Sabalenka in the matches, Swiatek said, “For sure when we play against each other, I feel like it’s a challenge. I think it’s also pushing me to become a better and better player. So, I think we both kind of need each other to grow.”

So, both of them currently enjoying this challenge! Swiatek also said, “I think it’s great because she’s No.2 for a long time. And she has already proven that she can play great tennis.” Aryna Sabalenka’s best result at the French Open came last year when she reached the SF. She will take on Russia’s Erika Andreeva in the first round of the 2024 French Open on Sunday (May 26). How far do you think she can reach this time at this tournament?