French Open: Iga Swiatek beats Elena Rybakina and extends her bid for a 4th title in a row

PARIS (AP) — Iga Swiatek needed this type of turnaround, this sort of victory, given the tough-for-her past 12 months.

So after she went from dropping eight of the first nine games against Elena Rybakina in the French Open's fourth round Sunday, after she came through in the clutch, Swiatek responded with quite a reaction.

Swiatek hung in there until she could put together a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 comeback over 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina, extending her tournament winning streak to 25 matches and her bid for a record fourth consecutive championship at the clay-court major at Roland-Garros.

When she took the last two games and ended things with a forehand winner, Swiatek yelled, rocked back on her heels and put her fist to her chest.

“I needed that kind of win to feel these feelings that I’m able to win under pressure,” Swiatek said. “For sure, it’s a great confirmation for me. ... I’m happy that I fought, and I also problem-solved.”

The big-serving Rybakina got off to a stunning start, leading 5-0 after less than 20 minutes and grabbing 24 of the initial 32 points. She was responsible for 10 of the match's first 12 winners.

“I knew that (to) continue like that,” Rybakina said, “is not going to be easy.”

In the second set, Swiatek double-faulted to close the first game, then turned to her team in the stands with her palms up and said something; soon she was down 2-0. There was a game later in that set where she double-faulted three times.

"I don’t think that happened before," Swiatek said.

That, though, is when Swiatek suddenly transformed back into what she's been so often in recent seasons: a seemingly invincible force on red clay who has won four of the past five titles at the French Open, where she is 39-2 for her career.

At the outset, Swiatek had trouble dealing with Rybakina's power and repeatedly was forced into errors. Given the rough stretch since June 2024 for Swiatek, a 23-year-old from Poland, maybe it would not have been entirely shocking for her to take a loss Sunday.

She hasn’t reached any final since earning the trophy in Paris a year ago and slid from No. 1 to No. 5 in the rankings.

That rut includes a loss in the semifinals at the 2024 Olympics, contested at Roland-Garros; she ended up with a bronze. Later last season, she was banned for a month after testing positive for a banned substance; her explanation was accepted that the result was unintentional and caused by a contaminated medicine.

On Tuesday, Swiatek will play No. 13 Elina Svitolina, who is 0-4 in previous French Open quarterfinals. No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka faces No. 8 Zheng Qinwen in Tuesday's other women's match.

Svitolina saved three match points to get past 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1. All of the top eight women’s seeds reached the fourth round; No. 4 Paolini was the first to exit.

Swiatek was almost the next.

One key moment across the 2 1/2 hours that perhaps presaged Rybakina’s unraveling came when she was a point away from a second break in the second set and had the chance to strike a forehand into an empty section of the court. Instead, she hit it right at Swiatek. When the ball came back over the net, Rybakina netted a jumping overhead.

Soon, Swiatek was imposing herself on groundstroke exchanges. She moved back for returns and those became more effective as Rybakina’s first-serve percentage dipped from 56% in the first set to 45% in the second and 43% in the third.

In the second set, Swiatek reeled off five straight games and, in one burst, 10 straight points.

Still, not all was smooth sailing in the third.

Swiatek faced three break points while trailing 3-2 but escaped from that predicament. After breaking to lead 4-3, Swiatek double-faulted to make it 4-all.

In the next game, Swiatek appeared to have a break for a 5-4 edge when Rybakina's second serve was ruled a fault. But chair umpire Kader Nouni overruled the line judge’s out call. When Swiatek told him Rybakina didn't argue about the original ruling, Nouni replied: “It’s my responsibility to check it.”

Said Swiatek: “I just refocused immediately. It wasn’t such a big deal for me.”

Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after beating Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after beating Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after beating Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina returns the ball to Poland's Iga Swiatek during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Poland's Iga Swiatek reacts as she plays Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina returns the ball to Poland's Iga Swiatek during their fourth round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday, June 1 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.

Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.

On Friday, U.S. forces seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil. The action reflected the determination of the U.S. to fully control the exporting, refining and production of Venezuelan petroleum, a sign of the Trump administration's plans for ongoing involvement in the sector as it seeks commitments from private companies.

It's all part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.

The meeting, set for 2:30 p.m. EST, will be open to the news media, according to an update to the president's daily schedule. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.

Trump is set to meet with executives from 17 oil companies, according to the White House. Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalization of private businesses under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.

The president is meeting with a wide swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets. Other companies slated to be at the meeting include Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol.

Large U.S. oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested on social media that America would help to backstop any investments.

Venezuela’s oil production has slumped below one million barrels a day. Part of Trump's challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are slated to attend the oil executives meeting, according to the White House.

Meanwhile, the United States and Venezuelan governments said Friday they were exploring the possibility of r estoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, and that a delegation from the Trump administration arrived to the South American nation on Friday.

The small team of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security officials traveled to Venezuela to make a preliminary assessment about the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement.

Trump also announced on Friday he’d meet with President Gustavo Petro in early February, but called on the Colombian leader to make quick progress on stemming flow of cocaine into the U.S.

Trump, following the ouster of Maduro, had made vague threats to take similar action against Petro. Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart after a friendly phone call in which he invited Petro to visit the White House.

President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)