After a scintillating period of form, Aryna Sabalenka’s form has dipped.
After losing the Australian Open final to Elena Rybakina in February, Sabalenka bounced back emphatically.
The Belarusian returned to the Tour in March and became only the fifth woman in tennis history to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’ – winning Indian Wells and Miami in the same calendar year.
However, since triumphing in South Beach, Sabalenka has suffered back-to-back early exits at WTA 1000 events.
Is Aryna Sabalenka playing well enough to win the French Open?
She's 4-2 on clay this year…
At the Madrid Open, Sabalenka was stunned by 30th seed Hailey Baptiste.
Two weeks later, the world number one was defeated by Sorana Cirstea in Rome – albeit while dealing with a troubling physical issue in her lower back.
Sam Querrey, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, has offered his take on Sabalenka’s recent form, and discussed whether fans should be concerned about the 27-year-old’s French Open chances.
Sam Querrey is not worried about Aryna Sabalenka’s recent form
“I don’t think so,” Querrey [pictured below] said on the Nothing Major Show when asked if he was concerned about Sabalenka’s form ahead of Roland Garros.
“She is still going to be the favourite at Roland Garros. I think because there is not another female player who has been dominating, who has won Stuttgart and then won Madrid, and it looks like they are dominating to overtake her.
“But last week in Madrid you had four women in the semi-finals who were outside of 20 in the world. This week in Rome, Coco Gauff is still cruising along, Pegula and some of the other top women.
“But I still believe Sabalenka is going to be the favourite once Roland Garros hits, but she can’t be feeling great.
“After winning the Sunshine double and then coming to Madrid and Rome and losing early in Madrid for her standards and then really early in Rome, it is a little surprising.”
Steve Johnson, the former world number 21, agreed with Querrey’s summary, concluding that Sabalenka remains the favourite to win her first Roland Garros title.
“In a different area, her and Novak, she has not proven she is going to lose early at any Slam recently, so why would you expect anything other than a deep run at the French?” Johnson said.
“She wasn’t feeling great, 100%. She now has two and a half weeks to get right.
“She is going to go through the first week and then she will get into week two and be competing for another Grand Slam title. I think zero cause for concern.”
How many Grand Slams will Aryna Sabalenka win this year?
She looks unstoppable right now!
Sabalenka will hope to quickly put her recent losses behind her in order to prepare appropriately for Roland Garros.
The Belarusian will hope to bury the demons of her 2025 French Open campaign, which saw her squander a one-set lead in the final against Coco Gauff.
After the contest, Sabalenka infamously suggested that Gauff had won the final as a result of the Belarusian’s errors, rather than her own exemplary play.
Sabalenka later apologised for the comments, calling them ‘completely unprofessional.’
What could Aryna Sabalenka earn in Paris?
If Aryna Sabalenka wins her first French Open title this year, she will earn £2.4 million in prize money.
The total represents an increase of 9.8 per cent compared to last year’s amount, while the total prize money on offer at the event has increased by 9.5 per cent from 2025.
| Round | Prize money |
| Champion | €2,800,000 |
| Runner-up | €1,400,000 |
| Semi-finalist | €750,000 |
| Quarter-finalist | €470,000 |
| Fourth round | €285,000 |
| Third round | €187,000 |
| Second round | €130,000 |
| First round | €87,000 |
| Qualifying – third round | €48,000 |
| Qualifying – second round | €33,000 |
| Qualifying – first round | €24,000 |
However, many of the circuit’s best players – including Sabalenka – are unhappy about the prize money on offer at the French Open this year.
In co-authored statement, players have claimed the prize money as a percentage of revenue falls way short of expectations.
Recently, Sabalenka went as far as to suggest players could boycott future Grand Slam events if an appropriate resolution is not found.
