Tennis has a new big three. Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina arrive at the French Open as the winners of the previous three grand slams in the women’s singles, and with a clear gap having opened up over the rest of the field. In the past six months, they have met in the latter stages of the biggest tournaments, with the variety of their individual match-ups delivering contests of the highest calibre, resetting the power rankings. A year on from Swiatek storming to a second French Open title and looking a level above the rest, it no longer appears to be a conversation of one.
The sport needed this. With so much change coming at the top of the game over the past two years, women’s tennis had reached the point where it needed a rivalry. It now has three in one, its own triumvirate, which will be enhanced should Swiatek, Sabalenka and Rybakina continue to compete against each other for the grand slams, beginning with Roland Garros over the next fortnight. But the reason why this year’s French Open is important is not to do with rivalries. The tournament will be under a scrutinous eye as it looks to respond to controversy, stemming from last year’s French Open to the events of recent weeks.
