With Ashleigh Barty retiring in the second round, it’s anyone’s crown to take. But even with Barty out, there is still stiff competition left to get through.
The expectations were high for Ashleigh Barty entering Roland Garros. The world No.1 won the French Open title in 2019, and she showed evidence of her returned championship form on clay during lead-in events after opting out of the event in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. She collected the singles and doubles trophies in Stuttgart, and she advanced to the final in Madrid. The 25-year-old was a, if not the, favorite to hoist the Suzanne Lenglen Cup yet again, and was open about how excited she was to be back in Paris. All of that came to an abrupt halt on Thursday during her second-round match against Magda Linette. Having injured her left hip during practice over the weekend before play started, her pain was evident almost immediately. Her movement was limited and her serve lacked its usual power. She had three double faults by the end of her second service game and lost the first set,6-1. Even a medical timeout after the first set didn’t help. With the score tied at 2-all in the second set, and with the pain becoming what she later described as teetering toward „unsafe,“ Barty retired from the match, ending her quest for her second Grand Slam title in an anticlimactic moment at the net. Even the always-pragmatic Barty couldn’t conceal how much the exit hurt. „It’s heartbreaking,“ Barty said. „I mean, we have had such a brilliant clay court season, and to kind of get a little bit unlucky with timing more than anything, to have something kind of acute happen over the weekend and just kind of run out of time against the clock is disappointing.“ It marks just the second time in the Open Era in which the women’s top seed at a major had to retire or withdraw, and with Naomi Osaka ’s withdrawl, is only the third time at Roland Garros in the Open Era in which the top two seeds failed to advance beyond the second round. Beyond the historical implications, the early departures set an incredible opportunity for those remaining in Barty’s half of the draw and the tournament at large. Of the seven major champions in the top half of the draw, just three remain heading into the third round. What once looked like a near-impossible side is still packed with talent, but it is considerably less predictable. Iga Swiatek, the reigning champion, remains one of the favorites. No. Chance. ????♀️ #RolandGarros| @iga_swiatek pic.twitter.com/9zAQYGEi6i The 20-year-old was a revelation at the 2020 staging of the tournament in the fall — she didn’t drop a set en route to the final and all but dismantled her often-far more experienced opponents like Simona Halep, who is also missing from Paris with injury. And before heading to Paris, Swiatek won the Italian Open in her final tune-up event. She’s shown no signs of letting up during this stint in Roland Garros either and still has yet to lose a set. Swiatek needed just over an hour to defeat Rebecca Peterson on Thursday and only gave up two games in the match.
