Why Iga Swiatek's French Open 2024 win, with Madrid Open & Italian Open titles in the lead-up, should rank among the greatest ever runs in tennis

Iga Swiatek won the French Open by beating Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-1 in the final in Paris last Saturday, June 8. It was her third successive title at the clay-court Major and fourth overall.

Swiatek entered the tournament at the back of back-to-back title wins in Madrid and Rome. She looked in magnificent form all throughout the French Open and was also resilient when she needed to be in the second-round match against Naomi Osaka.

Once Swiatek beat the Japanese, there was no stopping her, as she dropped only 17 games in the next five matches to win her fifth Grand Slam title. Her French Open win-loss record now stands at a staggering 35-2.

At this rate, Iga Swiatek can aim to break Chris Evert's record of winning seven French Open titles. She has already equaled the French Open tallies of Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Monica Seles.

Given the way she has been performing and the fact that time is on her side, Swiatek should be able to add a few more titles at Roland Garros to her kitty in the future.

Iga Swiatek's hattrick of titles in Madrid, Rome and French Open should be considered among the all-time greatest runs in tennis

Swiatek, quite remarkably, lost a solitary set en route to her triumph at Roland Garros. It was in her second-round match against Naomi Osaka. Prior to that, she won the Italian Open without dropping a set and the Madrid Open by losing only two.

It means that in the three big tournaments this year, she has won 21 matches by dropping a total of three sets, which is an incredible record. It goes on to show the kind of stranglehold the world No. 1 has on women's tennis at the moment. Her dominance on clay is the most prominent one in women's tennis in recent times.

From 2020-2024, a total of 14 tournaments have taken place on clay, if we consider only Grand Slams and WTA 1000 events, and Iga Swiatek has won eight of those tournaments. Even if we look at the six events the Pole did not compete in, she reached the quarterfinals or further in three of them.

Barring the Madrid Open final, in which she edged past Aryna Sabalenka in a thriller and the second-round clash against Osaka at Roland Garros, which saw her save a match point, the Pole has not looked in serious trouble in any of those matches. She has won most of her matches at a canter, giving her opponent no respite.

In fact, Swiatek has become only the second female player in history to achieve the "treble" on clay by winning the Madrid Open, Italian Open and French Open. Only Serena Williams has managed it before, in 2013.

Williams' feat was very impressive, as she dropped only two sets across all three tournaments. However, the American was already an extremely experienced player at the time, and while Swiatek has had a few years of experience herself, winning all three titles at the age of 23 is an incredible feat.

Simply put, having a run like that on clay across 19 matches, takes a lot be it physically or mentally. From a mental perspective, especially after being in the kind of situation she was against Naomi Osaka, to win as comprehensively as she did, Iga Swiatek should be lauded for her French Open run alone, never mind her triumphs in Madrid and Rome.

To win all three tournaments in a row, while having just a week off in between, the Pole's clay season in 2024 should be considered as among the greatest runs in tennis history.