ROAD TO THE NBO: CAN ANYONE STOP IGA SWIATEK – TAKE TWO

For the second time in 2024, the women of the WTA Tour will be asked the question: can anyone stop Iga Swiatek at Roland-Garros?

The first time around, the answer was no.

A little under two months later and so far the world No. 1 is looking as comfortable as ever at the venue where she has won a title four of the last five years. Swiatek is already through to the third round of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris without dropping a set and has only lost more than two games in a set once so far.

The only woman who came close to providing a different answer that question about stopping the Pole in Paris earlier this year is already out of the tournament.

A fascinating first-round match at the Olympics pitted Naomi Osaka, who held match points against Swiatek back in May on Court Philippe Chatrier, against fellow multi-Slam winner Angelique Kerber. The German won that clash in straight sets.

Another boon to Swiatek’s status as title favourite was the first-round loss of her nemesis, Jelena Ostapenko. The Latvian, who holds a 4-0 head-to-head advantage over the world No. 1, was projected to meet Swiatek in the quarter-finals but was upset by Camila Osorio

While the concept of a “Big Three” on the WTA Tour of Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, and Elena Rybakina has not really come to pass the way many expected a year ago, those three women are still by most estimations the three best players on the WTA Tour, an estimation largely backed up by the Race to the WTA Finals, where they occupy three of the top four spots (Jasmine Paolini sits third ahead of the Australian Open champion Sabalenka).

Interestingly though, only Swiatek is in Paris competing at the Olympics

By the time the WTA Tour arrives in Toronto in just a few day’s time, Sabalenka and Rybakina may be better prepared to tackle the hard courts of North America than the world No. 1, who is still sliding on the dirt across the sea.

Sabalenka is getting her hard-court reps in this week in Washington, where she is the top seed at the WTA 500 event. The two-time major winner has not played since Berlin in June, having skipped Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury.

Rybakina initially made the trip to Paris but withdrew at the last minute with bronchitis. She will be taking the week to physically recover ahead of the event in Toronto.

How these two big hitters recover from their respective physical ailments is worth keeping an eye on, especially as they enter a part of the season where they have a great chance to, or possibly even are favoured to, take down Swiatek and dominate the WTA circuit.

As two of the biggest hitters on tour, the fast hard courts like ones in Toronto are well-suited to Sabalenka and Rybakina’s games.