With Jannik Sinner running roughshod over the entire ATP Tour, it’s probably going to be left to the women to create all this year’s French Open excitement. In truth, this has been the trend for years.
When Rafa was at his peak, the women’s draw was where you turned for a little bit of mystery. Iga Swiatek threatened Nadal-level dominance but has lost a bit of momentum in recent years. The 21st century has produced a nice array of finalists and no shortage of drama-filled championship matches. Here are my personal picks for the five best women’s finals of the 21st century.
5. 2015- Serena Williams (USA) bt Lucie Safarova (CZE), (6-3, 6-7, 6-2)
The greatest women to ever play the game, Serena Williams is a once in a century athlete. People wax lyrical about her epoch-defining power and superior movement (and righty so). But I personally think that her mental fortitude was perhaps the most underrated aspect of her game (barring that one notable faux pas against Osaka in New York). She showed all her girt and mental toughness in this 2015 battle, battling bad influenza to take down Czech Lucie Safarova. Serena dominated the first set before trailing 4-1 in the 2nd (which she would ultimately lose in a tiebreak). Safarova broke early in the 2nd and had all the momentum at 2-0. Serena rallied in imperious fashion, winning the final six games to become the first player- man or woman- to complete the Triple Career Grand Slam.
4. 2025- Coco Gauff (USA) bt Aryna Sabalenka (BLR), (6-7, 6-2, 6-4)
Coco shone in Paris last year, outlasting Sabalenka in windy conditions to win her 2nd career Grand Slam title. Gauff endured an awful start to her 2025 campaign, battling serving demons while struggling on the quicker surfaces. The clay came to the rescue for the American, as she just got better as the clay-court season developed. Gauff had to fight back from a set down, using heavy topspin to create consistency in the blustery conditions. Sabalenka tried to her hit her way out of trouble against the metronomic Gauff, coughing up an incredible 70 unforced errors in the process. Gauff- who recently freshened up for her title defence with a solid runner-up finish in Rome- became the first American woman to win the title since Serena in 2015.
3. 2001- Jennifer Capriati (USA) bt Kim Clijsters (BEL) (1-6, 6-4, 12-10)
2001 was the year where wayward American tennis icon Jennifer Capriati finally got everything to line up, benefiting from diminished expectations as she collected both the Aussie and French Open titles. This French Open final was a wild affair that veered dramatically from one side to another. Teenager Kim Clijsters did not look overawed by the occasion, blitzing the reigning Aussie Open champ 6-1 in the first set. The American found her range in the 2nd set and started to dictate the tempo with her powerful groundstrokes. The final set became a battle of wills, with Capriati ultimately prevailing 12-10 in the longest French Open women’s 5th set of all time (a record which will likely never be broken unless they decide to abandon the 3rd set tiebreaker rule).
2. 2023- Iga Swiatek (POL) bt Karolina Muchova (CZE), (6-2, 5-7, 6-4)
Far and away the toughest of Swiatek’s French Open final wins, this epic against Muchova may very well be the best WTA slam final of the decade. Swiatek dominated the first set with the same ruthless efficiency that we had come to expect from the Pole. But Muchova changed tact in the 2nd set, throwing off the Pole with a mixture of slice and deliciously timed drop shots. The Pole looked panicked for the first time in her Grand Slam final career. Muchova won the first set and picked up an early break in the decider. But Swiatek showed a champion’s resolve, rediscovering her best tennis to reel off five of the last six games.
1. 2014- Maria Sharapova (RUS) bt Simona Halep (ROM), (6-4, 6-7, 6-4)
This was a return to form for the ladies’ final, which had not produced a three-set thriller since 2001! Previous Roland Garros champ Maria Sharapova claimed the last of her five Grand Slam titles in Paris, fending off a spirted comeback from Simona Halep to prevail in three hotly contested sets. This was a tremendous duel peppered with long baseline exchanges. Halep, competing in her first Grand Slam final, was embraced by the Parisian faithful, who regaled her with chants of ‘Si-mo-na’. Queen of grunt Sharapova was no stranger to the villain role, keeping her composure to see off Halep in three. Sharapova was pushed to her limits by the Romanian, hitting 47 winners and committing plentiful errors in her quest to subdue the plucky Romanian.
