What Iga Swiatek said women’s tennis was struggling with after winning her first Roland Garros title that is now not the case

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Iga Swiatek is already one of the most decorated WTA players in history at just 23 years old.

Swiatek has won five Grand Slam titles, with four of those coming at the clay court major of Roland Garros.

However, it has been a more challenging period for Swiatek since then, having not reached a single final since Roland Garros last year.

This is highlighted by her recent result at the Italian Open, where Swiatek was beaten by Danielle Collins.

There is a lot more pressure on Swiatek these days due to her past achievements, but that was not the case in 2020.

What Iga Swiatek said women’s tennis was struggling with after Roland Garros in 2020

At Roland Garros in 2020, a 19-year-old Swiatek won Roland Garros and stunned the rest of the WTA field by winning her first major title as the world number 54.

Swiatek beat the likes of Simona Halep and Marketa Vondrousova, and defeated Sofia Kenin in the final to become the lowest ranked Roland Garros champion since 1975.

Due to the unknown quantity that Swiatek was at the time, she was asked many questions in her post-match press conference.

One of those was concerned how much Swiatek thought she could progress going forward, which prompted a response from her about the lack of consistency in women’s tennis at the time, drawing reference to ‘the big three’.

“I feel like I can do progress in, like, most of the things because I’m only 19,” said Swiatek. “I know my game isn’t developed perfectly.

“Also I think the biggest change for me is going to be to be consistent. I think this is what women’s tennis is struggling with. That’s why we have so many new Grand Slam winners because we are not, like, as consistent as Rafa [Nadal], Roger [Federer], and Novak [Djokovic].

“That’s why my goal is going to be to be consistent. It’s going to be really hard to achieve that. Right now I’m just going to, you know, enjoy the moment. I’m going to think about my future goals later.”

Has women’s tennis become more consistent since 2020?

The three Grand Slam tournaments held in the unique year of 2020 produced three different women’s singles champions, with only Naomi Osaka ranked inside the top 10 at the time.

There have been some surprising major champions since then, including 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, but now more consistency appears to have prevailed on the WTA Tour.

Although all four major titles are currently held by different players, world number one Aryna Sabalenka and Swiatek are two of those.

The others are two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova and Australian Open champion Madison Keys, who had already reached a major final before this year.

Sabalenka has been the dominant force on the WTA Tour in 2025, winning tournaments in Brisbane, Miami and Madrid to give herself a 3,800 point lead over world number two Coco Gauff.

While the WTA Tour has generally become more consistent, it is Swiatek who is notably struggling for form and now faces the daunting task of defending the Roland Garros title ahead of her.