Aryna Sabalenka favored over Iga Swiatek as French Open favorite by Casey Dellacqua

Former player Casey Dellacqua has chosen Aryna Sabalenka to go all the way and win the 2023 French Open over the two-time champion in Paris, Iga Swiatek.

Unlike 2022, when the Pole dominated the entire WTA roster, the ongoing season has seen two players — Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina — rise to the World No. 1's level. In fact, Swiatek is yet to win a big title this year, whereas the Belarusian has won a Grand Slam along with a WTA 1000 title, and the Kazakh star has pocketed two WTA 1000 crowns.

The three players have won the last three Majors, with a few experts and fans labeling them the 'Big 3' of women's tennis.

Speaking on The AO Show podcast recently, Dellacqua backed Sabalenka to win the upcoming tournament instead of Swiatek, who won in 2020 and 2022.

"There's a lot of players outside of those top 3 who I feel could certainly do damage and it wouldn't surprise me if they were in the semifinals and finals," Dellacqua said. "If we focus on the top 3, I'm going to go with Aryna Sabalenka because she's obviously got that Madrid title under her belt, that's a big win, and I think her firepower, on Roland Garros clay courts particularly, is going to be a real weapon for her."

The Pole is yet to find her groove this year, with a recent thigh injury adding to her woes. Dellacqua remarked that if healthy, Swiatek will be as dangerous as anyone else. The Australian lauded Rybakina for her Italian Open victory but also said that other players were not to be taken lightly.

"If Swiatek is healthy, you can't go against her as the favorite," she pointed out. "From what I'm reading and hearing, her thigh injury was a little bit precautionary. But what we saw in Rome with Rybakina, it was enough to show us that she is able to show up week in, week out and play some amazing tennis.

"But let's not forget Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari, and others who are still pushing that pack, which is exactly what we want for the women's game," she concluded.

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Aryna Sabalenka to face Marta Kostyuk in French Open 2023 R1

Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka will begin her quest for the 2023 French Open title against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in the first round on Sunday, May 28. The two players have clashed only once so far, with the Belarusian beating Kostyuk 6-4, 6-1 at the 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships.

If Iga Swiatek, who beat Coco Gauff in last year's final, fails to reach the semifinals at Roland Garros this year, she will relinquish her No. 1 ranking to Sabalenka. The Pole's first-round opponent is Cristina Bucsa.