The second major of the tennis season begins Sunday at Roland Garros. While the French Open qualifiers are underway, the sport’s major stars are waiting and preparing for the two-week competition.

Ash Barty will not be present after announcing her retirement in the weeks following her win at the Australian Open. Since then, several stars have stepped into the spotlight, and none more forcefully than Iga Świątek, who is riding a 28-match win streak into Roland Garros.

With Świątek leading the way, Just Women’s Sports has the top five players to watch as the French Open kicks off.

Iga Świątek

There is no hotter player on tour heading into the French Open than Iga Świątek. Since Barty walked away from the game in March, the 20-year-old has firmly cemented herself as the No. 1 player in the world.

Just the second player to win four WTA 1000 trophies in a single season, after Serena Williams, Świątek most recently claimed her fifth consecutive title at the Italian Open over the weekend. She’s won every WTA 1000 event she’s competed in this season, earning trophies at Doha, Indian Wells, Miami and Rome. During her 28-game win streak, she’s dropped just five sets. The run includes 12 bagel sets, in which Świątek won 6-0, and 10 sets won by a score of 6-1.

It’s not as if the quality of Świątek’s opponents has been lacking, either. Of the 28 matches, 21 were against players in the top 50, 11 were against those in the top 20 and seven against opponents in the top 10. The Polish player has been dominant in all facets, winning 72.6 percent of her service games and 55.3 percent of her return games. Świątek’s only Grand Slam title came at the French Open in 2020, and she enters this year’s tournament as the player to beat.

🇮🇹5!!!#backtoback pic.twitter.com/SBk57wAH6R

— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) May 15, 2022

Ons Jabeur

Heading into the final of the Italian Open on Sunday, where Ons Jabeur lost to Świątek, the Tunisian had been on an 11-match win streak of her own. The match was Jabeur’s second straight finals appearance after she defeated Jessica Pegula to win the Madrid Open the week prior.

Jabeur is just the fourth player to appear in both the Madrid and Rome finals in the same year, joining Dinara Safina from 2009, Serena Williams from 2013 and Simona Halep from 2017.

Entering the French Open with a career-high No. 6 world ranking, Jabeur has found success with her serve, winning 70.2 percent of her service points. She’s also recorded 106 aces, good for third among the world’s top 10. With 17 victories on clay this year, the 27-year-old has more wins on the surface than anyone else on tour and will be in her element at the French Open.

Bianca Andreescu

There might not be a more exciting player outside of the top 50 than Andreescu based on the way she’s playing right now. The 2019 U.S. Open champion returned to action at Stuttgart in April, playing in her first professional-level tennis match in seven months, and has been on a tear since then. In Madrid, she dismantled reigning Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins in straight sets. Through her first three tournaments of the season, Andreescu has won six of her nine matches on clay — including a quarterfinal run in Rome, where she fell to Świątek.

The Canadian entered Stuttgart last month ranked No. 121 in the world and has since climbed her way back up the rankings. Rising 18 spots after her finish at Rome, Andreescu heads into Roland Garros as the No. 72-ranked player. She is also one of the few players who has seemingly given Świątek any trouble this season. The 21-year-old took Świątek to break point in their first set in Rome before falling in straight sets.

Andreescu, once the No. 4 player in the world, has returned to form since opting out of the Australian Open to focus on her mental health, and the French Open is a chance for her to make a statement.

Danielle Collins

Danielle Collins has had a strong start to the year, climbing into the top 10 for the first time after making the Australian Open final, where she lost to Ash Barty. She’s dropped a spot since premiering at No. 8 in the world, having dealt with some ups and downs. The American lost to Andreescu in straight sets in Madrid before turning around and defeating Simona Halep in straight sets in the Round of 32 at the Italian Open. 

While she’s better on hard surfaces, Collins has had notable wins on clay, including at the 2021 Palermo Ladies Open. In last year’s French Open, Collins made it to the Round of 32, where she lost to Serena Williams in straight sets. She’s gained momentum since then, taking a 5-1 lead over Barty in the second set of the Australian Open final before Barty came roaring back.

If Collins can find her groove at Roland Garros, she’ll have as good a shot as any top-10 player at taking home the trophy.

Simona Halep

This will be Simona Halep’s first major since she hired new coach Patrick Mouratoglou. The coach is best known for his 10-year stint with Serena Williams, during which time she won 10 Grand Slam titles and completed the career Golden Slam.

I am now the full-time coach of @Simona_Halep. pic.twitter.com/MRlkmeJyhw

— Patrick Mouratoglou (@pmouratoglou) April 7, 2022

Halep has also had success in Grand Slams in the past decade. She won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019. The former world No. 1 also made the final of the Australian Open in 2018 and the semifinals of the U.S. Open in 2015.

The Romanian started the year off well, reaching the semifinals at Indian Wells before losing to Świątek in a close two-set match. She later withdrew from Miami, Charleston and the Fed Cup with a thigh injury. She made her return at the Madrid Open, where she took down world No. 3 Paula Badosa in straight sets in the Round of 32 and advanced to the quarterfinals. With those results, Halep soared back into the top 20 at No. 19.

If Halep continues to gain confidence as she works her way back from the injury, there’s no limit to what she can achieve in France.

Emma Hruby is an Associate Editor at Just Women’s Sports.

Zimbabwean swimming legend Kirsty Coventry made history on Thursday, when she became both the first woman and first African ever elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

At 41-years-old, Coventry will also be the youngest president in the organization's 131-year history and the 10th individual to ever hold the office.

"As an nine-year-old girl, I never thought I would be standing up here one day getting to give back to this incredible movement of ours," the five-time Olympian said in her remarks.

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An extensive Olympic resume, in and out of the pool

The Auburn University grad and seven-time Olympic medal-winner — including back-to-back golds in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Games — retired from competition after the 2016 Rio Olympics.

At that time, Coventry was already three years into her IOC membership, after initially joining as part of the governing body's Athletes' Commission. She joined the Executive Committee in 2023.

"I will make all of you very, very proud and hopefully extremely confident in the decision you have taken," Coventry said to her fellow members in her acceptance speech. "Now we have got some work together."

That work that awaits Coventry in her eight-year mandate will include navigating the 2028 LA Games and selecting a host for the 2036 Summer Games.

Her first Olympic Games at the helm, however, will be the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, giving her less than a year to prepare before the Opening Ceremony kicks off.

Coventry to continue IOC efforts to promote gender equity

Coventry will have a few months to adjust before assuming her new office on June 23rd, when she will succeed her mentor, 71-year-old Thomas Bach.

Bach will have served the IOC's maximum 12-year tenure in the role when he steps down, having led the governing body to stage the first-ever Olympic Games with equal numbers of women and men competing — a mark captured at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

With gender equity as a driving force in his leadership, Bach also increased the number women serving as both IOC members and in the organization's leadership roles, with women comprising seven of the body's 15-person executive board.

Coventry is one of those seven women, and Bach specifically hand-picked her as his successor.

The legacy she inherits isn't lost on Coventry, both in the efforts of Bach and in the women who paved the way — perhaps none more directly than IOC member Anita DeFrantz, a 1976 Olympic bronze medal-winning rower for Team USA and the only other woman to ever run for IOC president.

Recognizing the election's historic significance, 72-year-old DeFrantz overcame significant health issues to travel to Greece in order to vote for Coventry — with her ballot securing the exact number of votes Coventry needed to win.

"I was really proud that I could make her proud," an emotional Coventry said.

The NCAA is leveling the playing field, with Women’s March Madness teams in line to receive their first-ever prize payouts based on tournament performance — a mechanism the men’s tournament has enjoyed since 1991.

Sparked by 2021's landmark NCAA gender equity review, the NCAA will distribute a total of approximately $15 million to individual conferences based on how many games their teams play, with each March Madness performance "unit" worth about $113,000.

This year's inaugural $15 million purse represents 26% of the competition's $65 million media rights valuation — putting it proportionally on par with the percentage allocated to the men's fund.

That overall prize pool will jump to $20 million in 2026 and $25 million in 2027, before switching to a successive 2.9% increase per year.

"We are all playing in the same March Madness," said UNC Greensboro head coach Trina Patterson, whose No. 16-seed Spartans will face No. 1-seed USC in the first round on Saturday. "The treatment for the men and women should be equal. We get a unit!"

March Madness teams get additional NCAA tournament perks

While the performance payouts are new this year, women's March Madness teams also receive perks like charter flights throughout the tournament, which can make all the difference for smaller programs eyeing an upset.

"Everyone is so excited about the experience. Going from the bus directly to the plane, everyone was so happy," March Madness debutante William & Mary head coach Erin Dickerson Davis told ESPN ahead of her No. 16-seed team’s First Four victory on Thursday.

Columbia junior Perri Page, whose No. 11-seed Lions defeated Washington in their own First Four matchup on Thursday, echoed Davis' sentiment, saying, "It was cool going to the charter, and we've been taking it all in."

"We've been enjoying the whole season," the forward added, noting "It's great we can make money for the school now."

"It should have always been that way. Women's basketball has been fighting for equality for a very long time," said Davis. "I've been in this business for many, many years. I played college basketball. It's a long time coming."

"You got to start somewhere, and I think we've been so far behind," added Columbia head coach Megan Griffith.

"This is more like the whipped cream. I think the cherry on top is going to keep coming — but it's really good so far."

Less than two months before the season tips off on May 16th, the WNBA dropped its full 2025 national broadcast slate on Thursday, rewarding last year’s most in-demand teams with a significant uptick in screen time.

Fueled by the fan fervor around 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever will see a league-record 41 of their 44 regular-season games aired nationally this season.

That tally includes all five Fever matchups against regional rival Chicago, after the pair's June 23rd game averaged 2.3 million viewers — becoming the most-watched game of the 2024 regular season.

Just behind Indiana in earning significant national broadcast coverage are two-time WNBA champs Las Vegas, who will see 33 of their games aired across the country. As for the reigning champions New York Liberty, they trail the Aces by just one game, with 32 of their 2025 season games garnering national attention.

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Record WNBA ratings spur big broadcast moves

Thanks to 2024’s monster ratings, big-name networks are increasingly recognizing the WNBA as a profitable summer product, with broadcasters expanding their coverage as the league prepares for its 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights contract to kick in next year.

With the 2025 WNBA season expanding from 40 to 44 games per team, ION is leading all broadcasters with 50 regular-season games, with ABC/ESPN, CBS Sports, NBA TV, and Amazon Prime all taking a piece of the pro women's basketball league's pie.

Broadcasters are also moving games off of their sports-specific networks and onto flagship cable channels, with a record 13 matchups — a full half of Disney Networks' 26 regular-season games — set to air on ABC, including the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game.

The league will also see its first-ever regular-season games earn primetime broadcast TV slots, with CBS Sports elevating two of its 20 games — the June 7th and August 9th battles between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever — to its flagship network, CBS.

As the WNBA shoots for an even more impactful 2025 season, broadcasters are helping to boost the charge, offering increased access to the league’s brightest stars and biggest games.

The NCAA tournament tips off in earnest with the bracket's 64-team first round on Friday, as eager March Madness fans look beyond the chalk to eye the competition's underdogs after a rollercoaster 2024/25 basketball season.

Early upsets aren’t exactly the norm in the women’s tournament. Only one lower seed won their first-round matchup in 2024, and no team below a No. 3 seed has ever gone the distance, but in a season of increased parity, a few lower-rated squads are rounding into underdog form.

Breaking down potential March Madness bracket-busters

For potential March Madness upset instigators, late-season momentum late season momentum is the name of the game — a dangerous factor in any single-elimination tournament.

Even without superstar grad Caitlin Clark, No. 6-seed Iowa capped their regular season on a high before narrowly losing to No. 4-seed Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament's quarterfinals. Should they advance past No. 11-seed Murray State in their first-round Saturday matchup, the Hawkeyes are poised to give No. 3-seed Oklahoma a run for their money in the second round on Monday.

Entering as a No. 10-seed, Ivy League tournament champs Harvard will have their hands full against No. 7-seed Michigan State on Saturday, but Crimson senior Harmoni Turner and her season-average 22.5 points per game could tilt the scales in Harvard's favor.

After edging out first-round opponent No. 11-seed Iowa State, No. 6-seed Michigan is playing like an upset contender. Now a potential second-round matchup against No. 3-seed Notre Dame — fresh off a recent losing skid — awaits the young squad. 

With the brackets locked and the teams loaded, the prospects of twists and turns make the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament especially exciting — even if this year’s frontrunners appear destined for Tampa.

How to watch Women's March Madness games this weekend

The Big Dance officially begins at 11:30 AM ET on Friday, when No. 11 Iowa State tips off against No. 6 Michigan on ESPN2.

Saturday's slate will complete the 2024/25 NCAA tournament's first round, with No. 6 Iowa beginning their Madness run against No. 11 Murray State at 12 PM ET on ESPN.

No. 10 Harvard will start dancing a few hours later, with the Crimson facing No. 7 Michigan State at 4:30 PM ET on ESPNews.

All games in the 2025 March Madness tournament will have live coverage across ESPN networks.