WTA French Open – Victoria Azarenka vs Yanina Wickmayer

WTA French Open – Victoria Azarenka vs Yanina Wickmayer

🧠 Form & Context

Victoria Azarenka
📉 Career low: Just five wins in 13 matches this season, now ranked outside the top 70 for the first time since returning from maternity leave.
🏛️ Paris pain: Holds an 11–6 record in Roland-Garros openers, but it’s her least successful Slam—never reached the final, with only one semifinal (2013).
📆 Looking backward: Enjoyed success in 2024 with deep runs in Brisbane, Miami, and Berlin—form that hasn’t resurfaced in 2025.
🔥 Veteran fire: Still fiercely competitive, but the slow clay and creeping inconsistency have limited her effectiveness.

Yanina Wickmayer
🫶 Farewell tour: Set to retire after Wimbledon — this marks her final Roland-Garros main draw appearance.
🕰️ Ranking plunge: Just two wins in 2024 (2–14 overall), now ranked outside the top 1000.
🩹 Injury-hit years: Spent eight months sidelined before returning this January.
🏛️ Slam legacy: Reached the US Open semifinals in 2009 and had multiple third-round runs in Paris, but hasn’t been a clay factor in recent years.

🔍 Match Breakdown

This is a match defined more by sentiment than recent form. Azarenka is a shadow of her peak, but remains competitive and physically prepared. Her flat backhand, return pressure, and grit give her enough tools to manage a fading Wickmayer.

The Belgian still owns respectable power but lacks consistency and mobility. If she serves well and goes for broke, she could push Azarenka in patches. But across two or three sets, the gap in sharpness and match rhythm should be evident.

🔮 Prediction

Though both players are past their prime, Azarenka is still active, dangerous, and motivated. Wickmayer may earn a few applause-worthy moments in her final RG appearance, but the match is Azarenka’s to lose.

Prediction: Victoria Azarenka in straight sets — tighter second set possible if Wickmayer swings freely 🎾🫶