Iga Swiatek to face Elena Rybakina in blockbuster fourth-round clash at Roland Garros

After her third-round win at Roland Garros on Friday, Iga Swiatek was in the press room when her potential next opponents, Jelena Ostapenko and Elena Rybakina, were still playing their third-round match.

Swiatek was asked if she had a preference.

“No,” she said, smiling.

“Am I a good liar?” she added, laughing. “Let’s say it doesn’t matter, really. Oh my god, I couldn’t play poker!”

The good news for Swiatek? She probably got the result she was hoping for, as Ostapenko—whom she’s never beaten—ended up falling to Rybakina comprehensively in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.

The bad news? It was a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation, as Rybakina has given her all sorts of trouble in the past, too.

While Swiatek is 0-6—yes, you read that right—against Ostapenko, Rybakina is one of the only other players on the tour she doesn’t have a winning record against, splitting their eight career meetings evenly, 4-4.

Below are the results of all eight of their tour-level meetings.

SWIATEK VS RYBAKINA HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS (4-4):

• '21 Ostrava QFs (indoor hard): Swiatek won, 7-6, 6-2
• '23 Australian Open 4th Rd (hard): Rybakina won, 6-4, 6-4
• '23 Indian Wells SFs (hard): Rybakina won, 6-2, 6-2
• '23 Rome QFs (clay): Rybakina won, 2-6, 7-6, 2-2 ret. (thigh injury)
• '24 Doha F (hard): Swiatek won, 7-6, 6-2
• '24 Stuttgart SFs (indoor clay): Rybakina won, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
• '25 United Cup RR (hard): Swiatek won, 7-6, 6-4
• '25 Doha QFs (hard): Swiatek won, 6-2, 7-5

The two also played twice in juniors, splitting those meetings too, with Swiatek winning in Repentigny, Canada in 2016 on hard courts, 6-2, 6-2, and Rybakina winning in Milan, Italy in 2017 on clay, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

So, with all of that said, who will hold the advantage on Sunday?

The Case For Rybakina

Obviously winning half of their career meetings means Rybakina’s game poses some unique problems for Swiatek, but it’s where—or on what—those wins came that might give the 2022 Wimbledon champion the most confidence going into their ninth meeting on Sunday.

Rybakina is 2-0 against Swiatek on clay—and you can even extend that to 3-0 if you include their junior meeting in Italy. She’s also 1-0 against her at Grand Slams, winning their only previous meeting at a major at the Australian Open in 2023—and in straight sets, too.

The Kazakh is also playing her best tennis of the year right now, having won the WTA 500 lead-up event in Strasbourg the week before Roland Garros. She's won her last seven matches in a row going into Sunday.

The Case For Swiatek

Firstly, though Rybakina has won all of their previous clay-court meetings, each of those matches could have gone either way—they’re actually the only three-setters in their entire head-to-head.

Swiatek originally led 6-2, 4-2 when they played in Rome in 2023 before retiring injured early in the third set, and she pushed her to three in Stuttgart in 2024, too—which was on indoor clay. And even in their only junior meeting on clay, she was on the brink of winning in the second set.

Secondly, Swiatek is 2-0 against Rybakina this year—and 4-0 in sets—with her straight-set wins at the United Cup and in Doha. Those were on hard courts, not on this surface, but still, recency counts.

And finally, though she wasn’t able to hang onto her crowns at Madrid and Rome this year, Roland Garros is the tournament she’s dominated the most in her career, winning it four times—including the last three years. She’s on a ridiculous 24-match winning streak at this event.

So will the queen strike 25 wins in a row at Roland Garros, or will one of her toughest rivals end her reign? Tune into Tennis Channel to find out!