Iga Swiatek To Play For 3rd French Open Title, Will Remain World No. 1

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka appeared on a collision course for the French Open women’s final with the No. 1 ranking on the line.

But while Swiatek held up her end on Thursday in Paris, Sabalenka could not.

As a result, Swiatek, the 22-year-old from Poland, will remain No. 1 in the world irrespective of what happens on Saturday when she will attempt to win her third Roland Garros title (2020 and ‘22) and fourth major crown against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Swiatek has yet to lose a set during the fortnight.

The tournament winner will take home about $2.5 million, while the runner-up earns $1,248,019.

Swiatek need 2 hours, 9 minutes to fight off a tough challenge from Beatriz Haddad Maia, 6-2, 7-6(7). Haddad Maia is a 27-year-old left-hander from Brazil who had surgery to remove a benign tumor on her hand, shoulder surgery and back surgery and had never been past the second round of a major.

Swiatek saved a set point in the second-set tiebreak, and eight games marked the most she lost in her six matches in the tournament.

Haddad Maia, who beat Swiatek in three sets on hard courts last summer in Toronto, was ahead 5-3 in the tiebreak and had a chance to extend the match at 6-5, but missed a forehand in the net. The Brazilian, who won from a set down in the fourth round and quarterfinals to become the first woman from her country to reach the French Open semifinals, had previously led 3-1 in the second set, and also had three break points against Swiatek’s serve at 4-4.

Swiatek, meantime, has been rolling, including a straight-sets win over American Coco Gauff in the quarters that marked a rematch of last year’s final.

Earlier, the unseeded Muchova clinched her first spot in a Grand Slam final, saving a match point to stun Sabalenka 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 7-5 in a 3-hour, 13-minute instant classic.

Muchova, a former Top 20 player currently ranked No. 43, saved the match point while down 5-2 in the third set, then reeled off five games in a row for the win.

“Emotions, it’s been a roller coaster,” Muchova said after her win. “[Down] 2-5 in the third, but I still kind of knew it’s just one break and I was waiting for my chances. … I just try to play point by point. Super glad that I turned it around and then managed to win the match.”

Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open earlier this year for her first major title, suffered her first loss at a major after starting the year 12-0.

Had she won, she would have had a chance to replace Swiatek as world No. 1 with a win in the final.