Iga Świątek defeated Sofia Kenin in the final, 6–4, 6–1 to win the Women's Singles tennis title at the 2020 French Open.[1]
This was Świątek's first Grand Slam title and first WTA singles title overall, making her the first player since Jeļena Ostapenko to win a major tournament as their maiden singles title.[2]Ranked world No. 54, Świątek became the lowest-ranked player to win the French Open since rankings were introduced in 1975, and the lowest-ranked player to win a major title since Sloane Stephens won the 2017 US Open. Świątek also became the first Polish player to win a major singles title. At 19 years and 4 months of age, Świątek became the youngest woman to win the French Open singles title since Monica Seles in 1992. She did not drop a set throughout the entire tournament,[3] dropping only 28 games in total, the fewest since Steffi Graf dropped 20 games in 1988.[4] This also marked the first French Open where both the men's and women's singles champions did not drop a set during the tournament. Świątek became the first female Polish player since Jadwiga Jędrzejowska in 1939 to reach a French Open final, and the first to reach any major final since Agnieszka Radwańska at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships.[5]
Ashleigh Barty was the defending champion, but chose not to participate due to safety concerns resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[6][7] This marked the first time since 2008 that the defending French Open champion did not participate, and the second consecutive major tournament where the defending champion did not participate, after Bianca Andreescu withdrew from the 2020 US Open.[8]
Barty and Simona Halep were in contention for the WTA No. 1 singles ranking.[9] Barty retained the top ranking when Halep lost to Świątek in the fourth round, ensuring a year-end No. 1 ranking for the second consecutive year.[10][11] Halep's loss guaranteed a new French Open champion for the fifth consecutive year, and a maiden Grand Slam finalist from the top half of the draw.
Serena Williams was attempting to add to her Open Era record of 23 major singles titles and equal Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 major singles titles, but withdrew before her second round match due to a left Achilles injury she suffered at the US Open.[12]
Only 13 of the 32 seeded players advanced to the third round, the fewest at any major since Wimbledon expanded to 32 seeds in 2001. Only three seeded players advanced to the quarterfinals, the fewest since the 1978 Australian Open.[13] This was the first Grand Slam tournament since the 1999 Wimbledon Championships that two qualifiers, Nadia Podoroska and Martina Trevisan, reached the quarterfinals.[14] The semifinal match between Świątek and Podoroska was also the first semifinal to be contested by two unseeded players at a Grand Slam since the 1983 French Open.[15]
Podoroska became the first qualifier in history to reach the semifinals of the French Open and the first to reach the semifinals at any major tournament since Alexandra Stevenson at the 1999 Wimbledon Championships.[16] She also became the first female Argentine player since Paola Suárez in 2004 to reach the quarterfinals of a major tournament in singles, and the lowest-ranked semifinalist (ranked No. 130) at any Grand Slam since Henin at the 2010 Australian Open.[17]