Iga Swiatek led her French open title defense to a good start on Monday, recording a straight set victory to reach the second round.
Swiatek beat 42nd place Rebecca Sramkova 6-3, 6-3. Swiatek compiled 25 winners and 17 forced errors in the 1-hour, 24-minute contest.
Swiatek was on hand to see a farewell homage to 14-time champion Rafael Nadal on Sunday. Swiatek often talked about her admiration for Nadal.
“It certainly had tears,” said Sweet, who is next facing 2021 US Open champion Emma Ladukanu. “It was an incredible ceremony. I’m pleased that Roland Garros did this at Rafa and I’m pleased that the whole tennis world had the opportunity to come together and thank him.
“He’s a goat so I’m happy I was there.”
Swiatek ranked fifth in the rankings, and it was his first time coming out of the top two spots in about three years. She has not reached the final of any tournament since collecting three consecutive championships in Paris in 2024 and her fourth championship in five years.
The 23-year-old from Poland has expanded her unbeaten streak at the French Open to 22 matches, and is looking to become the first woman in a row with four trophies in a tournament during her professional era that began in 1968.
Swiatek took a different approach to preparing for this year’s tournament and arrived to get used to the Clay Court 10 days earlier.
“This was the first time I had this situation (arrived early),” Swiatek said in a post-match interview. “But I liked it. I knew I had the best courts to practice.”
Monday wasn’t the same for Emma Navarro. The ninth seeded American, who reached the US Open semi-final last September, bowed quickly in Paris, eliminating 6-0, 6-1 in just 57 minutes by Spain’s Jessica Buzas Maneiro.
Bouzas Maneiro’s biggest win of her career also came in the first round of the Grand Slam tournament.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka also suffered a first-round loss on Monday, falling to 10-seeded Paula Badosa 6-7 (1), 6-1, 6-4.
Osaka finished with a forced error of 54. Double Badosa’s double, the best show in the majors ran in the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January, and played in the quarter-finals in 2021 at Roland Garros.
At last year’s French Open, Osaka played one of her best matches since returning to action after becoming a mother, upsetting the eventual tournament champion Swiatek.
French Caroline Garcia bid for the final “adieu” to the Roland Garros crowd on Monday after a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to American Bernada Pera.
The 31-year-old was playing in her 14th French Open, but last week announced that she would be retiring later this season.
After the match, Garcia received a standing ovation, and fans chanted her name for a few minutes before conducting an on-court interview.
“I tried to fight to the end,” Garcia said. “I knew this would be my last Roland Garros since the start of the season. I had no idea how to handle emotions so I hesitated to say it out loud. Tears came every day this week.”
Former US Open semi-finalist Garcia placed fourth in the 2018 rankings and won the French Open Doubles title in 2016.
Coco Gauff, Sofia Kenin and Jessica Pegula are among the celebrities scheduled to play on the third day on Tuesday.
The report used information from the Associated Press and Reuters.
