After having lost six consecutive first-round matches, which included defeats in round of 128 at the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open and two losses in the qualifying rounds at the Italian Open and Madrid Open, Pironkova broke her losing streak with a straight-set victory over Mona Barthel in the first round of French Open. She was en route for another big upset having led with one set in the second round encounter against one the tournament favourites Elina Svitolina, who was the No. 1 ranked player in the Race to Singapore standings, but eventually lost in three sets.