As the tennis world turns its gaze to the red clay of Roland Garros for the 2025 French Open, a cloud of uncertainty looms over Iga Swiatek, the defending champion and four-time winner. Justine Henin, a former World No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion, has sounded an alarm about Swiatek’s alarming dip in form, suggesting the Polish star is “hurt” by her recent performances and warning that her struggles could “explode” at the upcoming tournament. Henin’s candid assessment, shared in a recent interview, paints a picture of a player grappling with intense pressure and personal challenges, casting doubt on Swiatek’s ability to secure a historic fourth consecutive title in Paris.
Swiatek, once an indomitable force on clay, has endured a turbulent 2025. The 23-year-old, now ranked World No. 2, has yet to claim a title this year, a stark contrast to her dominant 2024 season, where she won five tournaments, including her third straight French Open. Her clay-court campaign has been particularly troubling, with early exits in Stuttgart (second round to Jelena Ostapenko), Madrid (semifinals to Coco Gauff, 6-1, 6-1), and Rome (third round to Danielle Collins). “You can feel that it hurts, deep down,” Henin observed, pointing to Swiatek’s visible frustration on the court. She attributes this slump to a combination of mental strain and off-court turmoil, noting, “She’s been going through complex things for a while.”
Henin, who herself won three consecutive Roland Garros titles from 2005 to 2007, believes Swiatek’s perfectionist nature is a double-edged sword. “I think one of the bases is her very perfectionist side. She wants to do things in a certain way,” Henin said, suggesting that Swiatek’s high standards, coupled with the pressure of her past dominance, have taken a toll. Swiatek’s 2024 French Open triumph over Jasmine Paolini was a masterclass, but her near-exit in the second round against Naomi Osaka—where she saved a match point—hinted at vulnerabilities. “Even though I was really close to being out of it against Naomi, I just survived that match and then played with huge confidence,” Swiatek reflected at the time, a resilience that has been harder to summon this year.
Off the court, Swiatek’s challenges have compounded. Over the past year, she parted ways with her long-time coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, and sports psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, who had been instrumental in managing her mental game. A one-month suspension in late 2024 for a positive test for a banned substance further disrupted her rhythm, though she returned to competition in early 2025. Henin sees these changes as significant, stating, “The status she has had, the domination she has had, especially on clay, we felt at certain moments how much pressure it was sometimes difficult to bear.” Swiatek’s own words echo this sentiment; after her Madrid loss, she admitted, “I feel like I haven’t been moving well. The tennis also was like on and off.”
With the French Open set to begin on May 25, Swiatek’s preparation has taken a focused turn. Spotted practicing at Roland Garros just days after her Rome defeat, she opted against competing in warm-up events like Strasbourg or Rabat, choosing instead to refine her game in Paris. Her 35-2 record at Roland Garros, including a 21-match win streak, makes her a formidable contender, but Henin fears the weight of expectations could prove overwhelming. “I’m not a different player than I was like for past years in terms of my attitude or my emotions,” Swiatek insisted in Madrid, yet her recent performances suggest otherwise.
The tennis world watches with bated breath. Can Swiatek rediscover the form that made her a clay-court queen, or will her struggles, as Henin predicts, “explode” under the Parisian spotlight? Her rivals, including Gauff, Collins, and a resurgent Osaka, are ready to capitalize. As Swiatek steps onto the terre battue, her quest for redemption promises to be one of the tournament’s most compelling narratives.
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