Iga Swiatek got her French Open title defense off to a good start Monday, recording a straight-sets victory to reach the second round.
Swiatek defeated 42nd-ranked Rebecca Sramkova 6-3, 6-3 in Court Philippe-Chatrier. Swiatek compiled 25 winners and 17 unforced errors in the 1-hour, 24-minute contest.
Swiatek was on hand Sunday to watch the farewell tribute to 14-time champion Rafael Nadal. Swiatek has often talked about her admiration for Nadal.
“For sure, there were tears,” said Swiatek, who faces 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu next. “It was amazing ceremony, and I’m happy that Roland Garros did this for Rafa. I’m happy that also the whole tennis world had an opportunity to kind of come together and just thank him.
“He’s a GOAT, so I’m happy that I was there.”
Swiatek has slipped to No. 5 in the rankings, her first time out of the top two spots in about three years. She hasn’t reached a final at any tournament since collecting her third consecutive championship — and fourth in five years — in Paris in 2024.
The 23-year-old from Poland extended her French Open unbeaten streak to 22 matches and is trying to become the first woman to with four trophies in a row at the tournament in the professional era, which began in 1968. Monica Seles and Justine Henin also won three straight titles at Roland-Garros.
Swiatek took a different approach to preparing for this year’s tournament, arriving more than 10 days early to get accustomed to the clay courts.
“It was the first time we had this situation [of arriving early],” Swiatek said in a postmatch interview. “But I liked it. I knew I am going to have the best courts to practice on.”
Monday did not go as well for Emma Navarro. The ninth-seeded American who reached the US Open semifinals last September, bowed out quickly in Paris, eliminated 6-0, 6-1 in just 57 minutes by Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain.
Bouzas Maneiro’s biggest win of her career also came in the first round at a Grand Slam tournament: She beat reigning champion Marketa Vondrousova in the first round of Wimbledon last year.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka also suffered a first-round loss Monday, falling to 10th-seeded Paula Badosa 6-7 (1), 6-1, 6-4.
Osaka finished with 54 unforced errors, exactly twice as many as Badosa, whose best showing at a major was a semifinal run at the Australian Open in January and made the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 2021.
At last year’s French Open, Osaka played one of her best matches since returning to action after becoming a mother, coming within a point of upsetting Swiatek, the eventual tournament champion.
France’s Caroline Garcia bid a final “adieu” to the Roland Garros crowd Monday after a 6-4, 6-4 loss to American Bernarda Pera.
The 31-year-old was playing in her 14th straight French Open but announced last week that she will retire later this season.
After the match, Garcia received a standing ovation and the fans chanted her name for several minutes before she did an on-court interview.
“I tried to fight until the end,” Garcia said. “Since the start of the season, I knew this would be my last Roland Garros. I hesitated to say it out loud because I didn’t know how I’d handle the emotions — and this week, the tears have come every single day.”
A former US Open semifinalist, Garcia rose as high as No. 4 in the rankings in 2018 and won the French Open doubles title in 2016.
Coco Gauff, Sofia Kenin and Jessica Pegula are among the big names scheduled to play on Day 3 Tuesday.
Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.
