The 2022 French Open women’s final represented a moment for the sport that could be called a changing of the guard.
While Iga Swiatek entered the final with a Grand Slam title in her trophy case already — and on a 34-match winning streak — the 21-year-old is still just coming into her own as one of the world’s great players. She staked a dominant claim to that, as she cruised to victory over Coco Gauff with a 6-1, 6-3 win in the final at Roland Garros in a match where she was almost never seriously challenged.
Gauff was in her first Grand Slam final — it was the first time she’d advanced past the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event — and while she’d played in some big matches before, this was a wholly different animal against an opponent who was locked in from the first serve.
Swiatek opened the match by breaking Gauff’s serve and then she raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first set before Gauff could catch her breath and get a hold to win her only game of the first set. Gauff did go up 2-0 in the second set, but Swiatek rattled off five straight games and didn’t look back.