French Open LIVE: Swiatek v Paolini buildup updates from women’s final

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 2pm BST.

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.

Swiatek swept aside Coco Gauff in her semi-final to continue a dominant run since surviving a second round scare against Naomi Osaka.

The Pole, so commanding and controlling on clay, will start as the favourite as she targets a fifth grand slam, but Paolini has been the breakthrough star of the tournament and should provide stiff opposition.

The Italian had not been beyond the second round at a major before the start of the year yet has come of age in Paris to set up a shot at glory.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Mirra Andreeva’s teenage dreams were shattered by Jasmine Paolini at the French Open.

Russian 17-year-old Andreeva, the youngest grand slam semi-finalist since Martina Hingis in 1997, froze on the big stage as Paolini, 28, reached her first major final.

It was a match with the biggest age gap between two women in a Roland Garros semi-final since Chris Evert, at 30, defeated 15-year-old Gabriela Sabatini in 1985.

Paolini is also inexperienced at this level, though, having until this year never progressed past the second round at a grand slam.

But she held her nerve where Andreeva’s deserted her, the youngster squandering all six of the break points she created.

Read how Paolini reached the final:

Few things have been as certain as a Rafa Nadal triumph at the French Open over the last two decades but Iga Swiatek has emerged as a sure shot among women and is eyeing a fourth title in five years when she meets Jasmine Paolini in Saturday’s final.

Barring a blip in a blockbuster second-round clash against Naomi Osaka where she saved a match point to go through, Swiatek has crushed opponents with her all-court game and 12th seed Paolini will need something special to deny her.

Such has been Swiatek’s dominance on clay that the top seed from Poland has won her last 20 matches at Roland Garros, as she bids for a third successive trophy to add to her maiden Grand Slam triumph in Paris four years ago.

The Madrid and Rome champion can also extend her winning streak on the surface to 19 matches, with fans and analysts suggesting she is well on the way to becoming a claycourt great like 14-times French Open champion Nadal.

“We’ll see in 14 years if the journey is similar,” four-times Grand Slam champion Swiatek told reporters after thumping third seed Coco Gauff in the semi-finals on Thursday.

“That’s obviously really nice. I’d never expect anybody to compare me to Rafa because for me he’s above everybody, and he’s a total legend.

“We’ll see… but I’m proud of myself that I’m playing consistently here and that I’m mentioned in the same sentence as Rafa. That’s cool.”

Swiatek’s semi-final win put her in elite company as she became only the third player since 2000 to make three straight French Open finals after Justine Henin (2005-07) and Maria Sharapova (2012-14).

At 23, she is also the second-youngest player in the Open era to reach four title clashes, older only than German great Steffi Graf in 1990.

“After the tournament it usually hits me what I achieved, but during it, I feel like I just need to play another match,” said Swiatek.

“Sometimes, it’s hard not to see what’s at stake and what the atmosphere is around these matches. I’m not used to it. It’s not the routine. On the other hand, when I’m focused on work, I can make it a routine because that’s easier to do.”

Since surviving a match point in the second round against Naomi Osaka, in arguably the match of the tournament, Iga Swiatek’s route to the final has been more like a procession.

She won 20 games in a row over three matches against Marie Bouzkova (6-4 6-2), Anastasia Potapova (6-0 6-0) and Marketa Vondrousova (6-0 6-2), before rolling over Coco Gauff 6-2 6-4 in the semi-final.

Paolini may just have the element of surprise in her favour, though.

Swiatek said: “We played a long time ago, so I need to prepare tactically and see what her game is at now because for sure she’s playing… she has the best season, so she must have changed something.

“We’ll see because, honestly, I haven’t watched her matches, so there’s not a lot for me to say. I’ll just focus on myself and prepare tactically and try to be consistent with my tactics.”

Jasmine Paolini faces mission virtually impossible when she takes on world number one and defending champion Iga Swiatek in the French Open final.

While few would have bet against Swiatek reaching a third successive Paris final, Italian Paolini’s emergence from the other side of the draw was a huge surprise.

The 28-year-old had never even been past the second round at a grand slam until this year, and her 6-2 4-6 6-4 win over fourth seed Elena Rybakina in the quarter-final was one of the shocks of the tournament.

But the late bloomer has enjoyed a breakthrough year, beginning with a run to the fourth round in Australia and taking in a WTA 1000 title win in Dubai in February.

As an experienced Tour player, Paolini is certainly not likely to suffer a bout of the nerves which crippled 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in their semi-final.

“Iga is an unbelievable player,” said Paolini. “So young, but so many achievements and grand slams. Here she won three times.

“She’s doing well week by week, and that’s not easy. So I have huge respect for her.

“But my goal is to step on court on Saturday and try to enjoy the match, to enjoy that moment and to try to play a good match and to make a good performance on court.”

Paolini has played Swiatek twice before, a 6-2 6-1 defeat in Prague six years ago and a 6-3 6-0 reverse in the first round of the 2022 US Open, which the Pole went on to win.

“We’ll see in 14 years if the journey is similar,” four-times Grand Slam champion Swiatek told reporters after thumping third seed Coco Gauff in the semi-finals on Thursday.

“That’s obviously really nice. I’d never expect anybody to compare me to Rafa because for me he’s above everybody, and he’s a total legend.

“We’ll see… but I’m proud of myself that I’m playing consistently here and that I’m mentioned in the same sentence as Rafa. That’s cool.”

The WTA has called for a balanced match schedule at the French Open that gives women’s players their fair share of prime time billing after the Grand Slam featured men’s matches in all 11 evening session slots this year.

In France, Amazon’s Prime Video has exclusive broadcasting rights for the major’s evening sessions, which run from the first round to the quarter-finals, and only one women’s match was chosen to be the evening showpiece in both 2022 and 2023.

Tournament organisers missed an opportunity to highlight the blockbuster second round clash featuring defending champion Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka in the evening, with that three-setter hailed as one of the matches of the tournament so far.

“The generation and depth of talent we are currently witnessing in the sport is incredible,” the governing body of women’s tennis said in a statement.

“Fans want to see the excitement and thrill of women’s tennis on the biggest stages and in the premium time slots.

“To continue building the value of our combined product, a balanced match schedule that features both the best in men’s and women’s tennis is critical.”

“Iga is an unbelievable player,” said Paolini. “So young, but so many achievements and grand slams. Here she won three times.

“She’s doing well week by week, and that’s not easy. So I have huge respect for her.

“But my goal is to step on court on Saturday and try to enjoy the match, to enjoy that moment and to try to play a good match and to make a good performance on court.”