Momentum … you can’t see it or touch it, but it’s very real.
Sunday’s four Round of 16 matches are stacked with the irresistible force of recent and current excellence. Look at these blazing runs the five highest seeds remaining in the top-half of the draw have produced:
Iga Swiatek: 24 straight matches at the French Open.
Zheng Qinwen: 9 straight at Roland Garros.
Jasmine Paolini: 9 straight on clay.
Elena Rybakina: 7 straight on clay.
Aryna Sabalenka: 15/17 on clay.
These heady numbers are mitigated by the fact that all four players seeded to reach the quarterfinals are challenged by seeded players who have enjoyed an unusual degree of success against them.
Check out the surprising head-to-head records below:
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 16 Amanda Anisimova
Head-to-head: 5-2, Anisimova. Her record on clay is 3-1, including a 6-4, 6-2 second-round win on the way to the 2019 Roland Garros semifinals as a 17-year-old. Sabalenka won their most recent clay match three years ago in Rome, in three sets.
Because of that history, this one commands attention.
After stepping away from tennis in 2023 to reset, Anisimova finds herself at a career-high ranking of No. 16. Consider that one year ago she was at No. 231 in the PIF WTA Rankings.
It was a straight-sets victory for Sabalenka who dominated the court 💪#RolandGarros
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2025
Anisimova is here after an impressive 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over No. 22 seed Clara Tauson. She’s always been a clean ball striker and has an uncanny ability to redirect the ball. She’s been especially on point in Paris, for instance, hitting 38 winners against Tauson. There was a medical timeout to address a blister, but it didn’t appear serious.
Earlier this year, Anisimova won the WTA 1000 title in Doha and has beaten the likes of Emma Navarro and Jelena Ostapenko. With that head-to-head, she won’t be over-awed opposite the World No. 1.
After defeating Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-3, Sabalenka is into her third straight Round of 16 at Roland Garros. She’s dropped only 10 games in three matches — her second-lowest total ever in a Grand Slam after last year’s Australian Open, which she won.
No. 4 Jasmine Paolini vs. No. 13 Elina Svitolina
Head-to-head: 1-0, Svitolina, 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the third round of this year’s Australian Open.
Here are two experienced players that are extremely comfortable on red clay.
Paolini, 29, just won the WTA 1000 in Rome — becoming the first Italian in four decades to do so — and reached her first Grand Slam final a year ago at Roland Garros. She’s ranked at a career-high No. 4 and won her second consecutive match in straight sets, a 6-4, 6-1 decision over Yuliia Starodubtseva.
Svitolina, 30, was a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) winner over Bernarda Pera, converting her fourth match point.
It was her 15th win of the season on clay (17, counting Billie Jean King Cup) — more than any other woman.
She’s been remarkably consistent at the French Open, and she’ll be looking to reach the fifth quarterfinal of her career, following 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2023. She’s won more matches here (32) than at any other tournament. Seven of her career’s 18 titles have come on clay.
No. 5 Iga Swiatek vs. No. 12 Elena Rybakina
Head-to-head: 4-4. But Rybakina is the only player on record to beat Swiatek twice on clay (2023 Rome via retirement and 2024 Stuttgart).
While Swiatek was in the midst of her post-match press conference, two players were battling to become her next opponent. She was asked if she had a preference between Rybakina or Jelena Ostapenko — who is 6-0 against Swiatek.
“No,” she said, smiling and covering her face with her hands. “Am I a good liar? Let’s say it doesn’t matter, really. Oh, my God. I couldn’t play poker.”
Swiatek dodged that potential Kryptonite when Rybakina defeated the No. 21-seeded Ostapenko 6-2, 6-2. But as that 4-4 head-to-head suggests, Rybakina isn’t exactly a bargain. The Stuttgart match went three sets, but Rybakina’s power — particularly her serve — benefitted from playing under a roof. Court Philippe Chatrier, especially when it’s warm, helps Swiatek’s formidable top-spin forehand.
“It’s tough to play against Iga on clay,” Rybakina said. “She spins the ball really well. She has unbelievable intensity on the court, so it is not easy. So it’s going to be difficult one.”
Swiatek, a 6-2, 7-5 winner over Jaqueline Cristian, is looking for her fourth straight title at the French Open, where she’s compiled a record of 38-2. Rybakina is trying to emulate Barbora Krejcikova, who won Strasbourg and Roland Garros back-to-back in 2021.
No. 8 Zheng Qinwen vs. No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova
Head-to-head: 3-2, Samsonova. Zheng won their only previous match on clay, four years ago in Palermo.
Zheng, a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 winner over rising qualifier Victoria Mboko, has won the last nine matches she’s played at Roland Garros going back to the Summer Olympics, where she won the gold medal.
Last year, she reached the French Open fourth round, only to lose to Swiatek in three sets. She’ll have to focus on Samsonova and avoid looking ahead — Sabalenka and Swiatek could be in her path to the final here. Interestingly, Zheng is the only current Top 10 player with more WTA-level clay wins (nine) than hard court (seven) wins so far this year.
Meanwhile, Samsonova was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Dayana Yastremska. She’s gone about her business, winning all three of her matches in straight sets.
