"I was almost out of the French Open" - Iga Swiatek remembers Naomi Osaka scare in 2R, thanks fans for helping her rally afterwards to title win

Iga Swiatek retained her Roland Garros title in style after coasting to an emphatic 6-2, 6-1 win over Jasmine Paolini in the final of the 2024 French Open on Saturday, June 8.

The Pole recalled her nerve-wracking win over Naomi Osaka while acknowledging that she could have been out of the tournament in the second round.

Swiatek also thanked her fans for helping her rally all the way to a third straight triumph while asserting that she waited every year to return to play the French Open.

"As Jasmine said, it's amazing to be here. I love this place honestly. I wait every year to come back here. And yeah, thank you, Oh my God," she stated before struggling to find the appropriate words amid the roar of the crowd.

"I was almost out of the tournament in the second round. So, thank you guys for staying behind my back and cheering for me. I also needed to believe that this one is going to be possible. So, it's been a really emotional tournament," Swiatek declared, with Chris Evert by her side.

After thanking the crowd in French, an emotional Iga Swiatek expressed her gratitude to her family and the Polish fans in the crowd.

"So thank you for supporting me. Also, you know to everybody at home, my sister, my family, my sponsors for constant support. I won't bore you anymore. Thank you for all the support, and all the Polish fans and Polish flags," the World No. 1 affirmed.

In a tense second-round encounter, the 23-year-old held her nerve to get past four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 7-6 (7-1), 1-6, 7-5 but did not drop another set for the rest of the competition.

Following the initial hiccup, a dominant Iga Swiatek double bageled Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0 in the fourth round before getting past Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

Iga Swiatek becomes 1st woman to win four French Open titles before the age of 24

Iga Swiatek eased past Paolini in the finals of the 2024 French Open

Iga Swiatek became the first female player to have bagged the French Open title four times before the age of 24.

The Warsaw-born player first triumphed at the Claycourt Major back in 2020, defeating Sofia Kenin in straight sets in the title bout.

A second title at Roland Garros came Swiatek's way when she cruised past Coco Gauff in the finals of the 2022 edition. Karolina Muchova did manage to stretch Swiatek in the French Open final last year but failed to stop her from winning a third crown.

Following her fourth title win, Swiatek has now achieved a feat similar to that of Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg in the men's event at Roland Garros. Nadal and Borg also won four French Open titles before they turned 24.