The win, which took only 1 hour 8 minutes to complete, made her just the third woman in the open era that began in 1968 to capture three straight French Open titles, joining Monica Seles (1990-92) and Justine Henin (2005-07), and one of four women who have won more than three trophies at Roland Garros.
That list now includes seven-time champion Chris Evert, six-time winner Steffi Graf and four-time winners Henin and Swiatek.
Just as it was with those former greats, Swiatek’s dominance in her era is unmatched. There is an argument to be made that the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, should he win the men’s title Sunday, will have claim to the title as Rafael Nadal’s successor at Roland Garros the year Nadal lost in the first round as his decorated career trickles to an end.
There is far more legitimacy in the idea that his successor as ruler of red clay is already here.
Swiatek’s path to the final had exactly one bump, a three-set match in the second round in which she fended off match points against Naomi Osaka. Otherwise, she glided to the final, dropping just 17 games in five other matches, including two that were against fellow Grand Slam champions Marketa Vondrousova and Coco Gauff.
While Swiatek’s presence in the final was all but guaranteed, Paolini gave the French Open a fresh surprise. Born and raised in Italy, where she is still based, Paolini has one grandparent from Ghana and another from Poland, where she spent time as a child. At just 5-foot-4, she is inches shorter than most of her elite tennis playing peers, a quality she says limits her serve. And she entered 2024 with just one title and a 78-87 career record.
Paolini’s career trajectory ticked up in January. Her fourth-round run at the Australian Open was the first time she’d made it past the second round at any of the four Grand Slams, and she picked up a title in Dubai in February. Entering Saturday she was 22-10 in 2024.
The difference, for the woman who said she “never dreamed so big” to consider winning a Grand Slam title, was confidence. She dates the change to the middle of last summer. In Paris this year, she made it to the finals of the singles and doubles draws.
“Match by match, I felt more convinced that I can play at the higher level, you know. But it was a process. Is not like I switch something. It was a process,” Paolini said. “… Before it was, like sometimes, for example, when I was playing against the top players, I was, like, okay, I need a miracle to win this match. So I was already losing the match before even playing.”
The final set up a stylistic clash: Swiatek’s merciless efficiency and sly power against Paolini’s creativity and defense.
Paolini spent most of the match playing defense, pushing Swiatek into long games especially in the first set. But there is not a shot in Paolini’s arsenal she executes better than the world No. 1, and the second set was over in a flash, catapulting Swiatek into the history books.