Aryna Sabalenka will face a stern examination of her French Open ambitions in Sunday's fourth-round contest against Amanda Anisimova.
The world No. 1 has not dropped a set en route to a third consecutive round-four appearance at Roland Garros but faces an opponent who has often outwitted her on the tour and won their previous encounter in Paris six years ago.
Match preview
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A third-round victory for Sabalenka was never in doubt as the world No. 1 notched her 37th win of an outstanding 2025 to advance to another fourth round in Paris after 2023 and 12 months ago, ultimately reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals, respectively.
Having previously never gone past the third round until 2023, the Belarusian star is now one of the formidable performers on clay.
The top seed entered this year's French Open on the back of reaching another Stuttgart final, claiming the title in Madrid and progressing to the quarter-finals in Rome, placing the 27-year-old at 11-2 before Roland Garros.
With three more victories in Paris, Sabalenka, who trails only Iga Swiatek for the most last 16 Grand Slam appearances since the beginning of the 2020 season — Swiatek leads 17-14 — aims to record her 15th clay victory to set up a quarter-final clash with Liudmila Samsonova or Qinwen Zheng.
The No. 1 player on the women's tour has dropped only 10 games in the opening three rounds, four fewer than the six the Belarusian dropped in rounds one, two and three at last year's Australian Open, underscoring the top seed's dominance as she enters another matchup with Anisimova.
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Facing the American talent will pose significant challenges for the most consistent player on the women's tour, considering their previous meetings.
Anisimova may have struggled to replicate the heights of her title run in Doha during the Sunshine Double at Indian Wells and Miami, suffering swift exits in Madrid and Rome; however, the 23-year-old reached the semi-finals in Charleston and a quarter-final at the WTA 125 event in Paris on the eve of the French Open.
The world No. 16 enters this eighth meeting with Sabalenka sporting a modest 8-4 record this year on clay, highlighting the Doha champion's mixed results on the surface.
Nevertheless, the 16th seed has progressed confidently in the opening three rounds, with the undeniable highlight being a straight-set 7-6(4), 6-4 win over Clara Tauson in Friday's third round, advancing to a fourth match at the Grand Slam for the first time in three years.
Anisimova, a one-time French Open semi-finalist, has never made it to the last eight since that 2019 run, which ended in a last-four exit to Ashleigh Barty, but she aims to defeat the leading women's player to come within one more victory of matching her previous best showing at the Grand Slam.
Tournament so far
Aryna Sabalenka:
First round: vs. Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1 6-0
Second round: vs. Jil Teichmann 6-3 6-1
Third round: vs. Olga Danilovic 6-2 6-3
Amanda Anisimova:
First round: vs. Nina Stojanovic 6-3 4-1 ret
Second round: vs. Viktorija Golubic 6-0 6-2
Third round: vs. Clara Tauson 7-6[4] 6-4
Head To Head
Toronto (2024) - Quarter-final: Anisimova 6-4 6-2
Australian Open (2024) - Fourth round: Sabalenka 6-3 6-2
Rome (2022) - Quarter-final: Sabalenka 4-6 6-3 6-2
Madrid (2022) - First round: Anisimova 6-2 3-6 6-4
Charleston (2022) - Round of 16: Anisimova 3-6 6-4 6-3
French Open (2019) - Second round: Anisimova 6-4 6-2
Australian Open (2019) - Third round: Anisimova 6-3 6-2
Anisimova has always been a thorn in Sabalenka's side since their first matchup at the 2019 Australian Open, and the American leads their head-to-head 5-2.
While the Belarusian ended a four-match losing streak by clinching a quarter-final victory in Rome three years ago, before defeating the American at last year's Australian Open, the hard-hitting 23-year-old claimed their most recent matchup at last year's WTA 1000 event in Toronto, finishing as runner-up after losing to Jessica Pegula in the all-American final.
Anisimova also enters their eighth meeting with a 3-1 lead on clay and a 2-1 advantage in Grand Slams, stressing her upper hand in previous encounters.
We say: Sabalenka to win in three sets
Not everyone has Sabalenka's number like Anisimova, indicating a potential titanic tussle in Sunday's fourth round.
Although the American player holds the edge over the top seed in their overall head-to-head, the No. 1 player's all-round game has significantly improved since she experienced four consecutive defeats in this matchup between 2019 and 2022.
While we expect Sabalenka to be pushed all the way, the leading seed should just edge the 2019 semi-finalist in three tight sets and secure her spot in the quarter-finals.
