“I don’t know…” Aryna Sabalenka wonders what the Roland Garros organizers were thinking during her unexpected quarter-final loss.
Aryna Sabalenka has raised some questions about a decision made by the Roland Garros officials during her surprising French Open quarter-final loss to Diana Shnaider—but she admits she can’t really complain about the result.
The world number one looked to be heading comfortably into the semi-finals after leading 6-3, 5-3 against her Russian opponent. But Shnaider fought back to win the second set in a tiebreak, and then Sabalenka shocked everyone by completely falling apart in the final set, losing 6-0.
As a four-time Grand Slam champion, Sabalenka was seen as the favorite to win this tournament, especially with many of the top players like Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, and Iga Swiatek already out before the quarter-finals. This left Sabalenka as a top contender for her first Roland Garros title.
However, she was beaten by world number 25 Shnaider, who had never reached a major quarter-final before. The match was played in very windy conditions, and while Sabalenka didn’t blame her loss on that, she did wonder during her post-match interview why the roof over Court Philippe Chatrier stayed open during the windy play.
“I don’t get why they kept the roof open when it was so windy,” she said. “But I can’t really complain because, for most of the match, things were going well for me until I just lost my way mentally. Last year, they kept the roof open for us, but the next day, they closed it for the men to improve conditions and the quality of tennis. I don’t see why they didn’t do the same this time.”
She also shared how tough it was to watch the match at times. “Even though I was winning, the tennis was messy. I don’t know how anyone could watch it. Then Shnaider took control and played amazingly.”
Sabalenka was honest about how the loss affected her mentally. “I have no thoughts or emotions right now. I just want to quit tennis. But maybe I’ll feel better in a few days. Hopefully, I’ll get back on track mentally.”
She added, “I had chances in the second set but messed up, and then she played great. Mentally, I couldn’t bounce back after that. I don’t even remember the last time I lost 10 games in a row.”
Next, Shnaider will play against Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska, who had only won one Grand Slam match before in 2022, in the Roland Garros semi-finals. The other semi-final will see Russia’s Mirra Andreeva face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk. Whoever wins will earn their first-ever Grand Slam title.