More quality tennis was played on Day 2 of the French Open women’s singles. Four-time champion Iga Swiatek, Madison Keys, and 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina got their campaigns underway. The blockbuster encounter between Naomi Osaka and Paula Badosa also took place. Many of the seeds performed well on the second day, but one top player produced possibly the worst performance of her career. This article overviews who thrived, which players struggled, and names the best of the 25 matches played.
French Open Day 2 Women’s Recap
Who Looked Good
Iga Swiatek made a solid start to her French Open title defense. The Pole overcame Rebecca Sramkova 6-3 6-3 and controlled proceedings throughout. Although she was not at her spectacular best, Swiatek will undoubtedly be pleased to start strongly after a challenging last few months. Many did not rate her as the pre-tournament favorite, despite her dominant history at Roland Garros.
Elena Rybakina looked to be cruising to an even easier victory after taking the opening set 6-1 against Julia Riera. Instead, qualifier Julia Riera won the second set 6-4 and found herself two games from victory at 4-3 after much superb defensive play. However, the recent Internationaux de Strasbourg champion showed her trademark composure to win the last three games and survive a difficult test.
Madison Keys was one of the most comfortable winners on Day 2 of the French Open. This year’s Australian Open champion overwhelmed Daria Saville 6-2 6-1. The American got repeated joy on second-serve return, winning 89% of those points. Saville did not lack effort, but she could not adjust to the pace of Keys’ groundstrokes.
Danielle Collins had a competitive opening match against Jodie Burrage. The Briton was two points away from the opening set at 6-5 40-40 on serve, but ended up losing it on a tiebreak. Collins got tested again in the second set before triumphing 7-6 6-4 after being more decisive in the crucial moments.
Last year’s Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova got her first win of 2025 on Day 2 in Paris. She returned from six months out with a back injury last week in Strasbourg. The Czech was not perfect in her 7-6 6-3 win over the veteran Tatjana Maria, but that is understandable after so long on the sidelines.
Who Looked Bad
Emma Navarro’s performance on the second day of the French Open caused widespread astonishment. She reached the quarterfinals in 2024 and is usually solid in the opening rounds on all surfaces. The fans on Court Suzanne-Lenglen were visibly stunned when Jessica Bouzas Maneiro raced into a 6-0 5-0 lead. Thankfully, Navarro avoided a double-bagel, but a 6-0 6-1 loss after 57 minutes was confirmed in the next game. Although Bouzas Maneiro’s performance deserves credit, Navarro hitting four winners and 23 unforced errors summarizes her terrible day.
Diane Parry was also defeated by an unexpectedly heavy score. The Frenchwoman’s best surface is clay, and Robin Montgomery does not have much Grand Slam experience. But the American peppered Parry’s one-handed backhand throughout the contest, and the home favorite also served worse than usual. The contest ended 6-2 6-1 after the home favorite wilted surprisingly quickly.
18-year-old Maya Joint won her maiden WTA singles title a few days ago at the Morocco Open. That raised expectations for the French Open, but she struggled on Day 2. Her experienced compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic took advantage of Joint’s much lower level compared to last week to swiftly triumph 6-1 6-3. Although it was a setback, the teenager will undoubtedly go much further at Roland Garros in the future.
Match Of The Day
Caroline Garcia’s last French Open match before she retires later this season was poignant. She finished at her home tournament with a 4-6 4-6 defeat to Bernarda Pera. 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu’s hard-fought 7-5 4-6 6-3 win against Xinyu Wang on Day 2 was also a thoroughly enjoyable contest. The 22-year-old had to dig in and survive several powerful forehands from her Chinese opponent to progress.
Osaka and Badosa’s battle is chosen over those matches because of the quality they produced. The Spaniard usually likes to be aggressive in the rallies, but she counterpunched in many of the rallies due to the Japanese player’s firepower. Badosa served for the opening set at 6-5, but was broken back to force a tiebreak. Osaka raised her game further, winning it 7-1 to take the opening set 7-6.
Any fears of Badosa wilting mentally were swiftly extinguished in the second set. She won it 6-1 and forced a decider after a near-perfect set of tennis from start to finish. Osaka then seized the initiative by breaking for 2-0 after some devastating hitting from the baseline. The four-time Grand Slam champion was pumped up, and stopping her at that stage seemed daunting.
Badosa’s mentality and match play from that point deserve immense credit. She began to put even more emphasis on counterpunching and tested the rally tolerance with much superb defence. Osaka’s game ultimately fell under the pressure, and Badosa prevailed 6-7 6-1 6-4. It was the former world No. 1’s second consecutive heartbreaking loss at Roland Garros after losing a thriller to Iga Swiatek last year.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
