French Open 2024: Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina start off in style

Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka, two of the biggest challengers to world No.1 Iga Swiatek’s crown, began their French Open campaigns with emphatic wins on Tuesday. While 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina swept past Belgium’s Greet Minnen 6-2, 6-3, two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka was too powerful for Erika Andreeva in a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

Kazakh world No.4 Rybakina, who is the only player to defeat Swiatek on clay this season, has won WTA 500 titles in Brisbane, Abu Dhabi and Stuttgart this year. She said she was happy to be back competing at full fitness, having withdrawn from Roland Garros before her third round match last year due to a respiratory illness.

Sabalenka, who defended her title at Melbourne Park in January, reached the finals in Madrid and Rome but lost on both occasions to Swiatek. The world No.2 reached the French Open semi-finals in 2021 and 2023 and will be determined to go further this time. She was broken by 19-year-old Andreeva early in the second set but remained dominant for the most part. The 26-year-old fired 27 winners past her 100th-ranked opponent and broke serve five times.

“I’m trying to do well on clay, it is tough conditions here but I enjoy playing here and I’m just trying to bring my best tennis every time whatever the surface,” said Sabalenka.

Meanwhile, Frenchwoman Alize Cornet’s career ended after her record-extending 69th consecutive Grand Slam appearance at the French Open, the tournament where she made her debut aged 15 and was once a ball girl.

Cornet lost 6-2, 6-1 to China’s Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen on Court Philippe Chatrier in the first round. The 34-year-old had made her debut at Roland Garros in 2005 and not missed a Major since the 2006 US Open.

“Emotionally, it was not easy,” said Cornet on her decision to retire. “Some days I was really excited about retirement and some other days I was very scared and very uncertain. So overall, I feel in peace today about it, and so I’m very happy about that decision.”

Cornet reached a career-high ranking of 11 in 2009 and enjoyed a surprise run to the 2022 Australian Open quarter-finals, beating Simona Halep along the way. Her career will also be remembered for a string of three successive victories against 23-time Grand Slam Serena Williams in 2014, which included a third-round win at Wimbledon.

Elsewhere in the women’s section, 10th seed Daria Kasatkina defeated Poland’s Magdalena Frech 7-5, 6-1 to move into the second round.

Heavy rain caused play on the outside, uncovered courts to be delayed by five hours and by 6 pm local time only nine of the scheduled 40 matches had been completed.

Two-time runner-up Casper Ruud, who won clay-court titles in Barcelona and Geneva in the build-up to the French Open, cruised to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Brazilian qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves. “It’s great to be back here at Roland Garros,” said Ruud, seeded seventh. “Hopefully I can make it another good year here.”

Australia’s Alex De Minaur, seeded 11th, also booked his spot in the second round with a 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 victory against Alex Michelsen.

Top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic was scheduled to begin his campaign with a night session match against French wildcard Pierre-Hugues Herbert.