World No. 1 Iga Swiatek won her third consecutive French Open with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Jasmine Paolini on Saturday. The 23-year-old from Poland is officially the youngest woman in Open Era to win four titles at Roland Garros, and the first woman since Serena Willians to win three straight trophies at a Grand Slam.
This result also became Swiatek's fifth Grand Slam trophy, making her the youngest player in the Open Era to five majors. Saturday's straight-set victory against Paolini took just one hour and seven minutes.
"I already achieved much more than I expected and I ever set my goals to," Swiatek said during her post-match interview. "I'm just doing everything step by step, really enjoying every match and every title. My goal is to be a better player."
Swiatek almost did not make it this far but she survived an upset scare in the second round against Naomi Osaka. She said she gained confidence from that match, and added that the crowd helped believe more in her ability to get the job done.
"It's amazing to be here. I love this place," Swiatek said during the trophy presentation. "Honestly, I wait every year to come back here."
Despite what the final score shows, Paolini did show some promise early on. The Italian 28-year-old, who will be making her debut in the WTA Top 10 next week despite the loss, found a 2-1 lead in the first set by taking advantage of Swiatek's unforced errors. However, Swiatek recovered quickly and won 10 consecutive games. Paolini did not let Swiatek get a bagel, but the second set was definitely lopsided.
Swiatek congratulated her opponent for her best performance ever at a Grand Slam and said she hopes to compete against her more in the future.
"I'm really impressed with how you've been playing these two weeks. With your game, I think you can do a lot, especially on clay," Swiatek told Paolini. "I hope we are going to have many more matches in final rounds."
Swiatek has now won 21 consecutive French Open matches dating back to 2022. She also has a 19-match winning streak on clay, including wins at the Madrid and Italian Open.
"Congratulations, Iga. I think to play you here is the toughest challenge in this sport," Paolini said.
