Jasmine Paolini will try to accomplish something no one has been able to do in quite some time: defeat Iga Swiatek at the French Open.
The top-seeded Swiatek carries a 20-match Roland Garros
winning streak into Saturday’s final against 12th-seeded Paolini.
Play is scheduled to begin in Court Philippe Chatrier at 3
p.m. local time (1300 GMT, 9 a.m. EDT).
Swiatek, a 23-year-old from Poland, is bidding for her third
consecutive title in Paris. It would also be her fourth championship in five
years at the clay court major and fifth Grand Slam trophy overall.
She is 4-0 in Grand Slam finals so far. She won the U.S.
Open in 2022.
Italy’s Paolini will be participating in a major final for
the first time at age 28. She had never been past the second round at one of
the four most important tennis tournaments until the Australian Open in
January.
She also reached the French Open women’s doubles final,
which is scheduled for Sunday.
Paolini and Sara Errani will face 2023 U.S. Open singles
champion Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova for the doubles title. AP