After Facing Her Biggest Challenge in a Final Yet, Iga Swiatek Wins Her Third French Open

On a hot, windy day at the 2023 French Open, women’s world number-one Iga Swiatek—who turned 22 during the tournament—took on the unseeded Karolína Muchová, of the Czech Republic, in a thrilling three-set match, winning 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. Swiatek, of Poland, was the top-seeded player at Roland-Garros, eyeing her third win there and her fourth Grand Slam title overall. And indeed, she was on a fiery streak going into today’s final, having won in straight sets for the last few weeks—and at all of her prior appearances in finals.

Swiatek’s 26-year-old opponent Muchová, however—the world number-43—played some exceptional tennis at her maiden Grand Slam final. On an astonishing 5-0 winning streak against top-three players going into this match (her semifinal victory against world number-two Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday was a highlight of the week), Muchová, who left Roland-Garros in tears last year after suffering an ankle injury, forced Swiatek to her first third set in a major final.