While everyone was preparing for a thrilling climax in the deciding set, the exact opposite happened: Iga Swiatek imploded in the 2025 French Open semifinal against Aryna Sabalenka.
Swiatek, who had come back brilliantly in the first set—turning a 3-0 and 4-1 deficit against an unstoppable Sabalenka into a 5-4 lead—met a strange fate in the tiebreak. She couldn’t win back-to-back points and lost the tiebreak without a chance, 7-1.
Fun fact: this was only the second tiebreak the two have ever played against each other.
In the second set, the return festival of the opener suddenly vanished.
Both players were now holding serve more comfortably — but unfortunately for Sabalenka, she had already dropped a service game early on. With Swiatek staying rock-solid from that point on, she was able to serve it out at 5-4 without trouble, leveling the match at one set apiece.
What unfolded in the third set defies explanation.
Trailing 0–1, Swiatek dropped her serve — and with it, her confidence seemed to melt away. What had happened in the first-set tiebreak now echoed throughout the entire decider. Her serve lost its bite, her forehand its feel, and the unraveling was so complete that Aryna Sabalenka didn’t even need to play her best to hand the Pole a bagel.
After a competitive opening set and an even sharper Swiatek in the second, the match ended with a surprising reality: the two rarely played well at the same time. While headlines may frame this as a dominant Sabalenka performance or a routine win, it was anything but.
Unlike her clash with Elena Rybakina — who struck the ball cleanly and consistently — this time, it was Swiatek who simply went off the boil without a reason.
Sabalenka vs Swiatek – Third Set Stats
| Stat | Sabalenka | Swiatek |
|---|---|---|
| Dominance Ratio | 4.00 | 0.25 |
| Winners | 5 | 2 |
| Serve Rating | 330 | 88 |
| Aces | 0 | 0 |
| Double Faults | 0 | 2 |
| 1st Serve % | 80% (12/15) | 47% (7/15) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 83% (10/12) | 43% (3/7) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 67% (2/3) | 0% (0/8) |
| Break Points Saved | – | 0% (0/3) |
| Service Games | 100% (3/3) | 0% (0/3) |
| Ace % | 0% | 0% |
| Double Fault % | 0% | 13.3% |
| Return Rating | 357 | 50 |
| 1st Return Points Won | 57% (4/7) | 17% (2/12) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 100% (8/8) | 33% (1/3) |
| Break Points Won | 100% (3/3) | – |
| Return Games | 100% (3/3) | 0% (0/3) |
| Pressure Points | 100% (3/3) | 0% (0/3) |
| Service Points | 80% (12/15) | 20% (3/15) |
| Return Points | 80% (12/15) | 20% (3/15) |
| Net Points | 0% (0/1) | 67% (2/3) |
| Total Points | 80% (24/30) | 20% (6/30) |
| Max Points In A Row | 9 | 1 |
| Match Points Saved | 0 | 0 |
| Service Games Won | 100% (3/3) | 0% (0/3) |
| Return Games Won | 100% (3/3) | 0% (0/3) |
| Total Games Won | 100% (6/6) | 0% (0/6) |
| Max Games In A Row | 6 | 0 |
| Injury Timeouts | 0 | 0 |
| Set Duration | 0h 24m |