Sabalenka-Gauff and Swiatek-Rybakina projected as semi-finals in stacked Roland-Garros women’s draw
With Sabalenka against Gauff in the top half and Swiatek against Rybakina in the bottom, the Roland-Garros women’s draw lines up a projected semi-final stage built around the world’s top four.
Gilles Moretton, Coco Gauff, Amélie Mauresmo, Tony Estanguet, draw 2026 | © JB Autissier / 2026
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and defending champion Coco Gauff (4), the 2025 finalists, are on a collision course for the top half of the Roland-Garros women’s draw, while Iga Swiatek (3), the four-time champion, and Elena Rybakina (2), the world No. 2, are projected to meet in the bottom-half semi-final on Thursday 4 June.
Sabalenka and Gauff have already met this year in the Miami final, where the Belarusian won; Gauff took last year’s Roland-Garros final 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 in their last meeting on this court.
The projected quarter-finals read:
- Sabalenka against Jessica Pegula (5);
- Gauff against Amanda Anisimova (6);
- Swiatek against Elina Svitolina (7);
- Rybakina against Mirra Andreeva (8).
Swiatek-Svitolina is probably the most expected quarte finale, as a rematch of their Rome batle last week in semifinal, but Philippe-Chatrier remains Swiatek’s room despite Svitolina’s recent win. Rybakina-Andreeva is the ball-striking generation gap: the 26-year-old Kazakh’s flat power against the 19-year-old Russian’s variety on clay.
The projected fourth-round matches read:
- Sabalenka against Naomi Osaka (16);
- Pegula against Victoria Mboko (9);
- Gauff against Ekaterina Alexandrova (14);
- Anisimova against Linda Noskova (12);
- Swiatek against Marta Kostyuk (15), the Madrid champion;
- Svitolina against Belinda Bencic (11);
- Rybakina against Jasmine Paolini (13), 2024 finalist;
- Andreeva against Karolina Muchova (10), the 2023 finalist.
Sabalenka-Osaka in the fourth round is the projection that catches the eye, two former world No. 1s on a court where neither has ever felt fully at home. Swiatek-Kostyuk reunites the Pole with the Ukrainian who took the Madrid title earlier this month. Rybakina-Paolini and Andreeva-Muchova are both finalist-against-finalist projections, in different shapes.
The first round delivered some early stories. Lois Boisson, last year’s semi-finalist as a wildcard at No. 361, has been drawn against Anna Kalinskaya (22). Mboko-Bartunkova brings two of the season’s emerging names together; Eala against Iva Jovic (17) is a generational shootout between the 20-year-old Filipina and the 17-year-old American.
Other notable openers: Anisimova against Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah (wildcard), the 18-year-old Frenchwoman of Malagasy origin getting her main-draw debut; Linda Noskova (12) against Maria Sakkari, the Greek’s continued slide from top-eight regular to unseeded testing point; and 2021 champion Barbora Krejcikova, unseeded after injury, drawing into Rybakina’s quarter.
deepest women’s draw Roland-Garros ?
Round three brings the early collisions worth circling. Sabalenka could meet Madison Keys (19), the Australian Open 2025 champion. Gauff is projected to face Anastasia Potapova (28), a dangerous floater on clay. Anisimova projects to Diana Shnaider (25), one of the season’s most improved players. Swiatek would face Sorana Cirstea (18), the 36-year-old Romanian who reached the Rome quarter-finals at her career-late peak ; buy yet she has to defeat the French young hope Ksenia Efremova, aged 17. Rybakina projects to Hailey Baptiste (26), the American seeded at a Slam for the first time.
This is the deepest women’s draw Roland-Garros has produced in years. Sabalenka is the top seed but enters Paris off quarter-final and third-round defeats in Madrid and Rome, with lingering back and hip issues she flagged after Italy.
Swiatek arrives off a semi-final in Rome – her best result of an uneven season – on the surface she has won four times. Rybakina has the form of her career and the half of the draw to use it. None of the four is the obvious favourite. All four can win. As much as Elina Svitoiolina, who has just defeated three of them (Rybakina, Swiatek, Gauff), in Rome.
