French Open: Iga Swiatek comes back to beat Elena Rybakina and extend bid for a 4th title in a row

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Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina returns the ball to Poland's Iga Swiatek during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Poland's Iga Swiatek reacts as she plays Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina returns the ball to Poland's Iga Swiatek during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Poland's Iga Swiatek returns the ball to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Poland's Iga Swiatek reacts as she plays Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Poland's Iga Swiatek reacts as she plays Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina returns the ball to Poland's Iga Swiatek during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Poland's Iga Swiatek reacts as she plays Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina returns the ball to Poland's Iga Swiatek during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Poland's Iga Swiatek returns the ball to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Poland's Iga Swiatek reacts as she plays Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
PARIS (AP) — Iga Swiatek turned things around at Roland-Garros after dropping eight of the first nine games against 12th-seeded Elena Rybakina in the fourth round Sunday, putting together a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory to extend her bid for a record fourth consecutive French Open championship.
The big-serving and hard-hitting Rybakina — who won Wimbledon in 2022 — got off to a stunning start, leading 5-0 after less than 20 minutes and grabbing 24 of the initial 32 points. She was responsible for 10 of the match's first 12 winners.
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'I needed to do something to get back in the match and, honestly, with her playing like that, I didn't have a lot of hope,' Swiatek said afterward.
There was more of the same early in the second set, when Rybakina went up a break — Swiatek double-faulted to close the first game, then turned to her team in the stands with her palms up and said something — and led 2-0.
That, though, is when Swiatek suddenly transformed back into what she's been so often in recent seasons, but not over the past 12 months: a seemingly invincible force on red clay who has won four of the past five titles at the French Open, where she is now 39-2 for her career.
She carried a 24-match tournament winning streak into Sunday and a chance to become the first woman in the Open era, which began in 1968, to win the Roland-Garros trophy four years in a row.
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That certainly seemed in danger at the outset in Court Philippe-Chatrier, where Swiatek had trouble dealing with Rybakina's power and repeatedly was forced into errors. Given the rough stretch since June 2024 for Swiatek, a 23-year-old from Poland, maybe it would not have been entirely shocking for her to take a loss Sunday.
After all, Swiatek hasn't reached the final of any event since earning the trophy in Paris a year ago and has slid from No. 1 to No. 5 in the WTA rankings.
That rut includes a surprising exit in the semifinals at the 2024 Summer Olympics, which were contested at Roland-Garros; she ended up with the bronze medal. Then, later last season, she was banned for a total of one month after testing positive for a banned substance; her explanation was accepted that the result was unintentional and caused by a contaminated medicine.
In the quarterfinals, Swiatek will play No. 13 Elina Svitolina. Svitolina is three-time major semifinalist but 0-4 in previous French Open quarterfinals.
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Svitolina saved three match points earlier Sunday to get past 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1. All of the top eight women's seeds reached the fourth round; No. 4 Paolini was the first to exit.
Swiatek was almost the next, but she pulled out the tight win.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis