French Open: Iga Swiatek's bid for fourth consecutive title continues with comeback win against Elena Rybakina

Iga Swiatek had to stage a comeback to beat Elena Rybakina and stay in the hunt for her fourth consecutive French Open title.

Rybakina, a former Wimbledon champion, had Swiatek in desperate trouble.

The match swung from one to the other as reigning champion Swiatek eventually won in three sets, 1-6 6-3 7-5, at Roland-Garros.

• Jack Draper dominates Joao Fonseca in Paris 🎾
• French Open schedule and prize money 📅💰
• Latest French Open scores and results 📒
• Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream on NOW 📺

After a strong hold of serve in the opening game, Rybakina secured three break points in the next game, converting the second of them.

Swiatek then made her work to hold serve but the Kazakh still managed to build on her advantage.

Facing Swiatek's serve once again, Rybakina blasted a return straight past the Pole. She continued to exert pressure on Swiatek, getting herself to break point. Swiatek stumbled, losing her footing and scrambling after the ball. She lofted it over to Rybakina who struck a backhand well past her.

Rybakina then held to love, racing away with the first set. She was 5-0 up before Swiatek had won a game.

All the momentum was with the Kazakh as she won the first eight points to claim the first two games of the second set.

At that point, it looked as if the reigning champion was down and virtually out of the tournament.

But Swiatek did manage to grab a break back herself. She battled her way to advantage point in the fourth game and, with the ball hanging high in the air, Rybakina made a misjudgement, scooping it down into the net.

Swiatek had another battle on her hands to hold serve in the next game. She squandered game points with double faults until she eventually found a way through.

Pressing her attack, Swiatek seized a break in the next game to move into the lead for the first time in the match.

Rybakina fell away as the champion started to take over. Swiatek won five games in a row, leaving the Kazakh to serve just to keep herself in the set.

She staunched that run of lost games but Rybakina still could not prevent Swiatek from taking the second set.

Mistakes from Swiatek saw her miss chances in the fifth game of the third set but she resisted Rybakina's efforts to break in the sixth. The Pole then took the next game against Rybakina's serve to edge in front, only for Rybakina to break right back.

Swiatek served to stay in the tournament but did so well, keeping the final set level.

Then in the 11th game, a poor drop shot from Rybakina fed Swiatek a short ball that she drove past the Kazakh to secure two break points. Swiatek took the first of them.

Totally focused on the final game, Swiatek ruthlessly served out the match.

"I needed to do something to get back into the game and with her playing like that I didn't have a lot of hopes but I kept fighting," Swiatek said.

"I was patient enough to stay in the game, stay focused and use any opportunity that came."

Svitolina stuns Paolini

Elina Svitolina sprung a French Open surprise by knocking out fourth seed and last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini.

The 30-year-old from Ukraine saved three match points before winning 6-4 6-7(6) 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals.

"I would've never believed this match would swing my way," she said. "It was a really difficult match, Jasmine was playing really well. It was really tough. I had to fight until the last point and I'm very happy to be in the next round.

"Of course it's one or two points which decided the second set. I was really pleased to win the second set and played really well to close the match.

"We are at a grand slam so everyone is playing very well and everyone is fighting. It's all about trying to stay focused and finding the opportunities."

Svitolina's husband, Gael Monfils, was knocked out by Jack Draper in a thrilling four-setter on Thursday night.

"It's important to recover because today was a very difficult match," she added. "An ice bath, some food, speak with my brother and Gael as well, enjoy the moment with them and then practice tomorrow to prepare for my next round."

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka beat American Amanda Anisimova 7-5 6-3 to book a last-eight meeting with Paris Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng, who battled past Liudmila Samsonova in three sets.

Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW.