If I Were Iga Swiatek, I’d Say Screw You

By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Photo credit: Mateo Villalba/Getty

Andy Roddick isn’t a doctor, but the former No. 1 can detect disorder. 

When it comes to reigning Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek, Roddick says the tennis world is suffering from collective amnesia.

Speaking to to Betway Sports for its Roland Garros preview, Roddick says those writing off Swiatek are forgetting she’s won four French Open championships in the past five years, owns a 23-match winning streak at the tournament and is motivated chasing history and an Open Era record fourth consecutive Roland Garros crown.

Hall of Famer Roddick said if he were Swiatek, he’d be so annoyed by some marginalizing her chances, he’d say: Screw you to skeptics.

“If Iga gets to the quarters or semis, she’s going to have a chip on her shoulder,” Roddick told Betway. “People are forgetting about her really quickly.

“If I had won four of the last five French Opens, I’d feel like, “screw you guys.”

Though Swiatek has not reached a final since pounding Jasmine Paolini in the 2024 Roland Garros final, she’s surrendered just nine games in two tournamenet wins. Swiatek shredded former US Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 in the second round today.

If seeds hold true to form, Swiatek would face a stiff test in the round of 16 against either Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina or the Pole’s personal nemesis, 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko, who owns an astounding 6-0 lifetime record vs. Swiatek.

Still, Roddick believes Swiatek will grow sharper and more confident as she progresses in Paris.

“I think people are completely underestimating Iga Swiatek,” Roddick said. “She’s getting judged against her own shadow right now, which is immense, but she still made the semis in Madrid and Australia. It’s not as if she hadn’t played any good tennis.

“I actually weirdly think that a tough draw will get her dialled in. She’s never lost a Grand Slam final – when she gets to the tail end of Grand Slams, she’s very good at closing.

“I still think Sabalenka is probably the favorite going into any tournament she enters right now, but I wouldn’t look past Iga.”

While Roddick rates world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka as clear favorite to win a maiden Roland Garros title, if she falters he believes the woman who knocked Sabalenka out of Paris last year, Indian Wells champion Mirra Andreeva, could make a title run.

“Mirra Andreeva could also go all the way, there’s no doubt, and she beat Sabalenka at the French Open last year,” Roddick said. “To me it’s when, not if, with Andreeva. She’ll win a Slam very quickly in the next 18 months. Is it going to be on clay at this one?

“It’s tough because it’s so match-up based, and she’s 0-4 or 0-5 against Coco Gauff—who she could meet in the semis – and I trust the match-ups sometimes.

“But if you wanted to look smart and just say Andreeva is going to win going into each of the next four, five or six Slams, then you’re going to be smart one of those times.”