Iga Swiatek wins her third consecutive French Open title with a dominant straight-sets victory over Jasmine Paolini on Saturday.

The world number one's brilliant winning streak continued as she won 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and eight minutes on court Philippe-Chatrier.

Paolini, playing in her maiden grand slam final, caused a few nerves by getting an early break, but it was exactly what Swiatek needed to get her focus.

Swiatek won every game in the first set from that point, using power to force Paolini to cover more ground. As mistakes crept into her game, the Pole pushed harder and took the lead.

Swiatek upped her level once more in the second set, with the Italian struggling to find any answers to get back into the tie.

The 23-year-old worked her way through the gears neatly, earning another double break to storm through the first five games.

In her last chance to stay in the match, Paolini went on the offensive to ensure she did not end up on the wrong end of a bagel scoreline, but it only took one more game for Swiatek to wrap up her fifth grand slam title.

Swiatek chases down greats

Swiatek has been equalling records for fun this year, and that only continued with her French Open victory on Saturday.

She now has an impressive four titles at Roland Garros under her belt, and she is just the second women's player to win three consecutively since Justine Henin between 2005 and 2007, and the youngest since Monica Seles between 1990-92.

She is also just the second women's player to win all five of her finals in Grand Slams after Seles during the Open Era, having won the US Open in 2022 as well.

Not only that, but Swiatek is the first player to win three consecutive titles at a single Grand Slam tournament since Serena Williams dominated the US Open between 2012-14.

Swiatek had already previously picked up silverware at the Qatar Open, Indian Wells, Madrid Open and Italian Open in 2024 before adding the Grand Slam title.

She was the favourite going into Saturday's match-up and looked unstoppable, and many will be left wondering just how far she will be able to go in the rest of the year.

A French Open run to be proud of for Paolini

Labelled as a late-bloomer, Paolini is the third player in the last decade to reach her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros after turning 28, along with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2021) and Lucie Safarova (2015).

It was always going to be a tough ask for Paolini to get her hands on the French Open trophy going up against as formidable an opponent as Swiatek.

Though she had already pulled off a big upset against Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals, and it looked like she could be on for another shock after a strong opening, she struggled to match her opponent's aggression.

2024 has already seen Paolini undergo huge changes – she came into the year with a losing record of 78-87 and one career title.

Since the turn of the year, she is 22-10 with one trophy and has the French Open doubles final to look forward to on Sunday with partner Sara Errani.

She is already confirmed to move into the top 10 of the rankings following the end of the tournament, having said before the final that she never dreamed this far ahead, only taking each match as it came. 

Sara Errani will prioritise helping doubles partner Jasmine Paolini ahead of her French Open final against Iga Swiatek this Saturday. 

The Italian duo beat Marta Kostyuk and Elena-Gabriela Ruse 1-6 6-4 6-1 on Friday to book their place in the women's doubles final, where they will face Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova.

Paolini has been partners with compatriot and five-time grand slam doubles champion Errani since the start of 2024, and the pair have quickly created a special partnership, having triumphed at the Linz Open and the Italian Open. 

The world number 15 will play in her first grand slam singles final one day before her doubles fixture but faces a sizeable task in stopping Swiatek from claiming a third straight title in Paris. 

However, she has the backing of her doubles partner, with Errani hoping the 28-year-old can enjoy the occasion this weekend. 

"It's a special moment. Of course, being in a slam final is amazing. For sure, I will speak with Jasmine. If I can help a little bit, for me it would be amazing. I don't really know what to say," Errani said.

"I hope she enjoys it. I hope she believes. I believe in her. It's a really tough match, but I think she's an amazing player."

It proved to be a difficult opening set for the Italian pairing, but they were able to recover from that slow start.  

"Today was a really tough match," Paolini said. "The first set, I mean, we didn't see any ball. They were just passing, and we were there and trying to fight.

"Then we said, okay, this cannot go worse. We managed to come back. It was a really tough match, but we are happy to be in the final."

Jasmine Paolini says she started to "dream step by step" before making it to her maiden grand slam final at Roland Garros.

The Italian saw off Mirra Andreeva in straight sets on Thursday to book a showdown against world number one Iga Swiatek as she aims to win her first major title.

Paolini has already pulled off one major upset at the tournament, knocking out Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals over three sets in impressive fashion.

No matter what happens in the final, Paolini is already assured of breaking into the top 10 in the WTA rankings on Monday and will be ranked, at minimum, number seven at the end of the tournament.

Asked if this was a moment that she imagined when she was young in training, Paolini admitted that was not the case.

"I was watching grand slam finals. I was watching the other Italians make it in the finals, and also won grand slams, but imagining that can be myself was tough," she said.

"Of course, I wished, but now it's something crazy for me. I'm really happy. Also surprised.

"I never dreamed to be number one, grand slam champion. Never dreamed so big. Never.

"Never maybe dream to be in the top 10, but I was hoping, but not really believing it. I think step by step I started to believe, but to dream for closer things.

"I think it's important to dream, but I started to dream, I think, step by step. Not too far away."

Swiatek is chasing a third consecutive French Open title and is a heavy favourite to win it going into the final.

Paolini was full of praise for the Pole but said she would not be intimidated by her opponent.

"Iga is an unbelievable player. So young, but so many achievements and grand slams. Here she won three times," she added. "She's doing well week by week, and that's not easy. So I have huge respect for her.

"My goal is to step on the court on Saturday and try to enjoy the match and to enjoy that moment and to try to play a good match and to make a good performance on the court."

Jasmine Paolini has reached her first grand slam final after defeating Mirra Andreeva in straight sets on Thursday.

Andreeva stunned world number two Aryna Sabalenka to reach her maiden grand slam semi-final on Wednesday, but an error-strewn performance saw her defeated 6-3, 6-1.

Paolini, who caused an upset of her own by knocking out Elena Rybakina in the quarter-final, was determined and got the first break early on before saving three break points in the fifth game.

Though Andreeva tried to mount a comeback, Paolini was too strong, holding out to win the first set, before getting another early break in the second.

The 17-year-old's frustration started to show, and she had few answers to Paolini's dominance as the Italian held out for an impressive victory.

Paolini will now face Iga Swiatek in the final on Saturday as she aims to cause another upset and claim her maiden grand slam title.

Data Debrief: Late bloomer Paolini looks unstoppable

Paolini is just the third player in the last decade to reach her first grand slam final at Roland Garros after turning 28, along with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2021) and Lucie Safarova (2015).

She also becomes the first Italian to reach the final of a grand slam event since Roberta Vinci at the US Open in 2015, and the first in the final of the French Open since Sara Errani in 2012.

Mirra Andreeva upset ailing world number two Aryna Sabalenka in three sets on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals of the French Open.

Sabalenka was bidding to reach the final four of a grand slam for a ninth time, but instead Andreeva recovered from behind 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4 to reach her maiden major semi.

The 17-year-old Russian will now face Jasmine Paolini, who stunned Elena Rybakina 6-2 4-6 6-4 earlier in the day in Paris to also reach her first grand slam semi-final.

After a tense and tight opening set in which the serve was lost in four of the first five games, Sabalenka ultimately stood firm to prevail in the tie-break.

The second set followed a similar pattern as Andreeva and then Sabalenka lost serve in the opening two games, but it was the teenager who this time managed to find her footing.

Sabalenka, who was struggling with an injury throughout, did herself manage to instantly hit back after losing serve in the sixth game, only for Andreeva to break in the 10th.

That ensured the match went the distance, much to the delight of the crowd, and it was the underdog who showed nerves of steel to eliminate the much-fancied Sabalenka.

A deep backhand return from Sabalenka brought up three break points, which the Belarusian took at the first attempt to make it 3-2, but that proved a false dawn.

Andreeva broke back in the sixth, roaring with delight in doing so, and held until the 10th game when sending a backhand winner down the line for match point.

Data Debrief: Age just a number for amazing Andreeva

Andreeva, aged 17 years and 37 days, is the youngest women's singles grand slam semi-finalist since Martina Hingis in 1997 at the US Open, and the youngest at the French Open since Hingis the same year.

The Russian is also the youngest to defeat a top-two opponent in a women's singles grand slam since Jelena Dokic against Hingis at Wimbledon in 1999, and the youngest in this tournament since Monica Seles against Steffi Graf in 1990.

Elena Rybakina suffered a stunning quarter-final exit from the French Open on Wednesday, an error-strewn performance being punished by Italy's Jasmine Paolini.

World number four Rybakina had been tipped to challenge Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka for the Roland Garros crown, but she only had herself to blame as her opponent reached her first career grand slam semi-final with a 6-2 4-6 6-4 victory.

The Kazakhstani did not look right from the get-go, committing a huge 16 unforced errors to Paolini's one in the opening set, during which the Italian only lost one point on her own serve.

It was more of the same at the start of the second set as a double fault allowed Paolini to clinch an early break with a ferocious cross-court backhand. 

Rybakina did steady the ship by breaking straight back, and she seemed to be in the ascendency when she kicked on to take the second set with two further breaks.

However, errors crept back into her game in a decider that began with four straight breaks of serve. Paolini grew in confidence again, breaking again then getting through a nervy final service game, a long forehand from Rybakina on match point summing up her performance.

Data Debrief: Late bloomer Paolini savours greatest win

Paolini's victory made her just the fifth player this century to make her first grand slam quarter-final at Roland Garros while aged 28 or older, after Elena Likhovtseva (2005), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2021) and fellow Italians Francesca Schiavone (2010) and Martina Trevisan (2022).

She will face either Mirra Andreeva or Sabalenka in the last four. With Jannik Sinner also flying the flag, this year's French Open will be the first in the Open Era to feature Italian semi-finalists in both the men's and women's draws.

Caroline Garcia came from a set behind to beat Alison Van Uytvanck and progress to the quarter-finals of the Lyon Open on Thursday.

The French top seed looked to be in trouble as Belgian Van Uytvanck eased to the first set, before Garcia found her feet to come back and overwhelm her opponent 2-6 6-0 6-1.

She will face Jasmine Paolini in the last eight after the Italian took just over an hour to dispose of Erika Andreeva 6-2 6-3.

Second seed Zhang Shuai is out though after falling to another Belgian in Maryna Zanevska 6-2 6-0.

Fifth seed Anastasia Potapova will face Zanevska next after her 6-4 4-6 6-3 win over Clara Burel, while seventh seed Danka Kovinic is also through after beating Anna Bondar 4-6 6-2 6-3.

At the Thailand Open, top seed Bianca Andreescu had no problems against Anastasia Zakharova, easing through to the quarter-finals 6-2 7-5.

The Canadian will face Marta Kostyuk next after the Ukrainian fifth seed defeated Nao Hibino 6-3 7-6 (9-7).

Sixth seed Tatjana Maria also progressed 6-0 6-4 against Dayana Yastremska, as did Heather Watson as she fought hard to see off Han Na-lae 6-3 5-7 6-4.

It was a bad day for seeds at the Lyon Open, with Petra Martic and Mayar Sherif both crashing out in the round of 16 in France.

Fourth seed Martic made a good start against American opponent Alycia Parks on Wednesday, only to lose 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.

Sixth seed Sherif was more convincingly beaten as she fell to Czech teenager Linda Noskova 6-3 6-2.

Noskova will face Camila Osorio in the quarter-finals after the Colombian came out on top in a tight clash with Jule Niemeier 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

In the two remaining first-round matches, Jasmine Paolini defeated Rebeka Masarova 6-3 6-2, while Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck will face top seed Caroline Garcia in the last 16 after beating Tamara Korpatsch 6-2 6-4.

At the Thailand Open, it was not much better for seeded players as Anna Kalinskaya and Linda Fruhvirtova both exited on Wednesday.

Fourth seed Kalinskaya was overwhelmed 6-0 in the opening set against Lesia Tsurenko, only to win a tie-break in the second.

The unseeded Ukrainian ultimately won out, though, sealing a 6-0 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 victory to reach the quarter-finals.

Eighth seed Fruhvirtova also managed to level after falling a set behind, and also could not find the win as the 17-year-old was beaten by Tamara Zidansek 6-3 4-6 6-4.

The Slovenian will face Zhu Lin in the last eight after her straight-sets win over Jang Su-jeong, but there was one win for a seed as Xinyu Wang (seventh seed) beat Mirjam Bjorklund 6-3 6-3.

Qualifier Anna Blinkova landed the first WTA singles title of her career by beating Jasmine Paolini in Sunday's Transylvania Open final.

The 24-year-old world number 138 had to come through qualifying in Cluj-Napoca, and she completed a stellar campaign at the Romanian event by getting her hands on the trophy.

Blinkova won 6-2 3-6 6-2 in an hour and 41 minutes, scotching Paolini's hopes of a second title in her tour career.

"I felt great the whole 10 days that I spent here since last Wednesday," the Russian said in her trophy acceptance speech. "I'm really looking forward to coming back next year."

The WTA said Blinkova's success made her the fifth qualifier to secure a tour title in 2022, following victories for Tatjana Maria in Bogota, Anastasia Potapova in Istanbul, Bernarda Pera in Budapest and Caroline Garcia in Cincinnati.

Blinkova, who was once ranked 54th in the world, will return to the world's top 100 on Monday.

Anna Blinkova advanced to her first WTA Tour singles final in one of two marathon last-four upsets at the Transylvania Open on Saturday.

Blinkova, the world number 138, had to come through qualifying in Cluj-Napoca but has built her momentum over the course of the week.

The Russian eliminated second seed Anhelina Kalinina in the quarter-finals on Friday, and continued her excellent form by downing compatriot Anastasia Potapova in the semis.

Number four seed Potapova took the opener against Blinkova, but the 24-year-old rallied to a 5-7 6-4 6-4 win to break new ground on the Tour.

Now, however, Blinkova faces an opponent who has beaten her twice in a row, dropping only seven games in the process.

Jasmine Paolini is herself playing only her second singles final on Sunday, having toppled seventh seed Wang Xiyu after two and a half hours on Saturday.

The Italian also required three sets, recovering her composure after being pegged back in the second to progress 7-5 4-6 6-3.

Magda Linette was the highest-profile casualty at the Transylvania Open on Wednesday after suffering a straight-sets defeat against Xinyu Wang.

Four of the seeded players have now fallen at the first hurdle in Cluj, with Lucia Bronzetti also joining Linette, Ana Bogdan and Marta Kostyuk in suffering early exits.

Fifth seed Linette was beaten 6-2 6-4 by Wang, while ninth seed Bronzetti went down 4-6 6-2 6-4 against world number 89 Dalma Galfi.

Anna Bondar is through to the quarter-finals, though, with the eighth seed enjoying a 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 victory over Harriet Dart.

Jasmine Paolini took just 58 minutes to wrap up a resounding 6-4 6-1 win over Dayana Yastremska.

Next up for the Italian is a last-eight showdown with Wimbledon quarter-finalist Jule Niemeier, who overcame Kamilla Rakhimova 6-4 6-4.

Tallinn Open top seed Anett Kontaveit kept her hopes of winning her home tournament alive with a 6-2 6-1 demolition of Tereza Martincova on Thursday.

The 26-year-old won five out of the final six games as she stormed to the first set, before securing her place in the quarter-finals with a superb second set in which she broke Martincova four times.

Fellow Estonian Kaia Kanepi is also through to the quarter-finals after a 7-5 7-5 victory over Ann Li.

The world number 32 found a crucial break with the opener tied at 5-5 as she took the first set, before breaking Li three times in the second to seal the win.

Eighth seed Shuai Zhang was dumped out by Donna Vekic in a 6-2 6-4 defeat, while fellow seed Jil Teichmann also saw her tournament ended as Ysaline Bonaventure beat her 7-6 (10-8) 6-3.

At the Parma Ladies Open, top seed Maria Sakkari came from a set down for the second consecutive match to overcome Maryna Zanevska and reach the semi-finals.

Zanevska sparked hopes for an upset as she broke the world number seven three times on her way to taking the opening set.

But Sakkari improved in the second to tie the match, before overcoming two breaks of serve from her Belgian opponent to win six of the last seven games and earn a 2-6 6-4 6-4 success.

Sakkari will face Danka Kovinic in the semi-finals, after the 27-year-old's 6-4 6-4 triumph over Italian Jasmine Paolini.

Irina-Camelia Begu's run of 12 consecutive wins on clay came to an end as she was defeated 6-2 7-6 (8-6) by Ana Bogdan in an all-Romanian clash. 

Bogdan's opponent in the final four will be Mayar Sherif, who beat American Lauren Davis 7-6 (7-2) 6-3.

Korea Open finalist Jelena Ostapenko was knocked out in the first round of the Tallinn Open after letting a one-set lead slip against Kaia Kanepi.

Ostapenko looked to be cruising after winning the opener, but Kanepi levelled in the second despite the Estonian watching five set points come and go.

Kanepi then romped to victory with a stunning final set to defeat Ostapenko 4-6 6-4 6-0 and keep her hopes of winning her home tournament alive.

In second-round action, Beatriz Haddad Maia is through to the quarter-finals after a 6-1 7-5 success over Linda Noskova.

After Haddad Maia cruised to a one-set lead, the second was a much tighter affair before the Brazilian's class showed as she broke Noskova and then held serve to earn a straight-sets win.

Second seed Belinda Bencic also secured her place in the final eight with a 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 triumph over Katie Boulter.

At the Parma Ladies Open, top seed Maria Sakkari came from behind to beat Arantxa Rus and seal her quarter-final spot.

Rus saved five out of five break points as she won the opening set 6-3 to give her hope of an upset.

Those hopes were soon dashed though as world number seven Sakkari broke twice to take the second set 6-2, before clinching the match in the third to tee up a clash with Maryna Zanevska.

World number 33 Irina-Camelia Begu made it 12 consecutive wins on clay by overcoming Matilde Paoletti in straight sets and will face fellow Romanian Ana Bogdan in the next round after she beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2 3-6 6-3.

Fourth seed Sloane Stephens saw her tournament come to an end after she was defeated by Danka Kovinic.

World number one Iga Swiatek cruised through her first test at the US Open by swatting away Jasmine Paolini 6-3 6-0 at Flushing Meadows.

The Polish star is chasing a third grand slam title, and her second of the year after triumphing at the French Open in June.

Having held top spot in the rankings since April in the wake of Ash Barty's retirement, the 21-year-old is chasing her best result yet in New York, having reached the fourth round last year.

Against the unseeded Paolini, she made an impressive start to her quest at Louis Armstrong Stadium, with a near-flawless performance that saw her break her opponent seven times.

Swiatek showcased her ruthless streak barely a handful of minutes into the first set, rifling home three unanswered points on her first serve before promptly breaking the Italian for the first time.

Another break followed, before Paolini hit back to make matters 4-2, the only time she looked to seriously threaten the Pole's dominance.

Swiatek responded with her third break in a row, before bouncing back from another lost service game to seal the first set.

With momentum on her side, the Roland Garros victor bulldozed her opponent across the second set – and though Paolini was able to save match point once, there was never any doubt who was heading through to round two.

Data Slam: Swiatek's youthful spirit powers on

Having failed to live up to expectations to an extent when her 37-match winning streak came to an end at Wimbledon against Alize Cornet, and struggled for consistency on tour since, Swiatek responded in impressive fashion.

With 45 grand slam match wins under her belt now, she is the youngest woman to reach that number since Caroline Wozniacki did so at the 2011 Australian Open.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Swiatek– 14/18
Paolini – 5/18

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Swiatek– 1/0
Paolini – 1/3

BREAK POINTS WON
Swiatek– 7/9
Paolini - 2/3

Caroline Garcia eased into the Poland Open final by dominating against Jasmine Paolini a day on from a superb win over Iga Swiatek.

Garcia defeated Swiatek in three sets on Friday, ending the world number one's 18-match winning streak on clay.

Paolini should have provided a far more straightforward task, and so it proved, as Garcia raced through 6-1 6-2 to make the title match.

The fifth seed will now face first-time WTA Tour finalist Ana Bogdan – a 7-5 7-5 victor against Kateryna Baindl – in that Warsaw decider.

Garcia will hope for better conditions for the showpiece, with rain having added another factor on Saturday, when the in-form French star was still recovering from stopping Swiatek.

"It's been a challenging week, especially today, with the big win yesterday, only a couple of hours to recover and be ready," Garcia explained.

"Conditions were very difficult, a lot of rain. I'm just very happy with the way I played, and I stayed very focused on the present, and it paid off."

At the Prague Open, Anastasia Potapova will face Marie Bouzkova in the final, the seventh seed playing the eighth seed.

Potapova had it largely her own way against Wang Qiang, who succumbed to a second-set bagel in going down 6-3 6-0, while Bouzkova also won in two but needed a tie-break in the opener against Linda Noskova, progressing 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.

Potapova faces a busy Sunday, as she had already advanced to the doubles final alongside partner Yana Sizikova.