Aryna Sabalenka said she wanted “to quit tennis” in an immediate outburst after one of the worst meltdowns in her career, losing 10 consecutive games en route to a shocking 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 defeat to the 25th seed Diana Shnaider in the quarter-finals of the French Open.
Asked by the moderator to explain her thoughts and emotions at the beginning of her post-match press conference, Sabalenka responded: “No thoughts, no emotions. Just want to quit tennis right now,” she said, shrugging. “But we’ll see. We’ll see in a few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.”
Ninety minutes into her 14th consecutive grand slam quarter-final, it seemed like nothing could stop the world No 1 from passing through another straightforward, uneventful day on the court. Even in gusty conditions and after a few nervous games while closing out the opening set, her game was in full flow. She led 6-3, 4-1, 30-0, seemingly moments from victory.
Instead, the top seed completely fell apart, paralysed by tension and unable to play with any semblance of freedom. Her anguish was contrasted with a supreme fighting performance by Shnaider, who reached a grand slam semi-final for the first time in her career.
At 5-4, 30-30 in set two, Sabalenka was two points away from reaching her 13th major semi-final in her last 14 appearances. As the only player left in the draw to even reach a grand slam semi-final, the four-time major champion was heavily favoured to finally win her first French Open title.
The 28-year-old has been so consistent and has improved so much over the years. Yet one of the most significant themes in her career has been how frequently she is shackled by nerves in the most decisive moments. Even her collapse in last year’s final defeat by Coco Gauff did not come close to this surrender.
“I don’t know when was the last time that I lost 10 games in a row,” added Sabalenka. “Mentally I got into a very deep, deep, dark hole over there, and I just couldn’t get back on track.”
The Belarusian also saved some of her frustration for the tournament organisers. She believes the roof should have been closed considering how difficult the windy conditions had become: “I don’t know why would they keep it open. Even though I was winning, it was very dirty tennis. I don’t know how people could actually just sit there and watch me play.”
Shnaider said she had Sabalenka’s loss to Gauff in the back of her mind as she tried to fight back: “I watched it. I knew that it was also super windy. So of course I had that thought in the back of my mind that she was struggling with Coco last year: ‘Yeah, I have got to use this opportunity, I need to adjust and do my best.’”
About 90 minutes after Sabalenka departed Court Philippe Chatrier, the roof was indeed closed for the second set of the men’s semi-final match between Félix Auger-Aliassime and Flavio Cobolli.
As shocking as Sabalenka’s performance was in the second half of the match, Shnaider played her part to perfection. Once Sabalenka began to look vulnerable, she locked down her game, dragging her frazzled opponent into lengthy, attritional rallies in the heavy conditions while brilliantly absorbing Sabalenka’s pace and maintaining immaculate depth.
Such a big win has been a long time coming for the Russian, a talented 22-year-old who has been ranked inside the top 20 for nearly two years but badly struggled to make her mark at the biggest tournaments and against the best players. Now she has earned herself the opportunity of her lifetime in a field of youngsters that will end with a new grand slam champion.
Shnaider will next face one of the most surprising slam semi-finalists in recent years, the qualifier Maja Chwalinska, who defeated the 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya to advance. Chwalinska is No 114 in the WTA rankings, she has never broken the top 100 and she had just one grand slam main draw win before this event. Although she has not faced a top-20 opponent, the Pole has put together an incredible run in Paris, rolling through eight matches with the loss of just one set.
At 24, Chwalinska is the oldest of the four semi-finalists. In the bottom half, the 19-year-old eighth seed Mirra Andreeva, Shnaider’s doubles partner, will face Marta Kostyuk, the 23-year-old 15th seed, in the latest duel between Russian and Ukrainian players.
As for Sabalenka, she was initially stumped when asked how she would bounce back from such a bitter disappointment. However, after giving the topic some thought, she had at least one solution. “By the way, I just figure how I can overcome it,” she said, smiling. “You know those rooms where you just go in and you smash everything? Probably I will spend a whole day tomorrow over there destroying stuff. Maybe it will help, maybe not.”
