Aryna Sabalenka said she feels like quitting tennis after a remarkable meltdown saw her lose to Diana Shnaider in the French Open quarter-finals. The world number one was the steady presence in a tournament full of shocks and looked to be easing through to the last four when she led by a set and 4-1 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
But Sabalenka, who had already looked unsettled by the windy conditions, won only one of the next 12 games to crash to a 3-6 7-5 6-0 defeat before stomping off court.
“No thoughts, no emotions,” said the Belarusian afterwards. “I just want to quit tennis right now. We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.”
It is only the second time in her last 14 grand slams that Sabalenka has failed to reach at least the semi-finals but it is the latest in a series of painful losses where the 28-year-old has been beaten as much by herself as her opponent.
Last year’s final defeat here by Coco Gauff, where Sabalenka was criticised for a perceived sour-grapes reaction, was a case in point, and, if she is to end her career with the grand slam haul her game deserves, she must somehow learn how to handle her emotions.
“I don’t know when was the last time that happened to me that I lost 10 games in a row,” she said. “I guess mentally I got into a very deep, deep, dark hole over there, and I just couldn’t get back mentally on track. This is something that I actually have to step back and try to find a solution, because I just am so tired of me losing some matches not in the best way just because I was overemotional.”
As to how she might get over the loss, Sabalenka added: “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.”
The top seed was unhappy the roof was not shut given the tricky conditions but she praised opponent Shnaider for her handling of the situation, especially in the third set, with the Russian stepping up impressively in the biggest match of her career.
Sabalenka’s defeat means there is no player left in the women’s tournament who has previously reached a grand slam final, while it is the first major since the French Open in 1977 where none of the men’s or women’s semi-finalists have previously won a slam title.
In a hugely unlikely semi-final, Shnaider will play Poland’s Maja Chwalinska, who is two victories away from matching Emma Raducanu by winning a slam title as a qualifier.
The 24-year-old had only won one main-draw match at any slam prior to arriving in Paris but extended her winning run to eight matches with a 7-6 (3) 6-3 victory over 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya.
Raducanu famously became the first qualifier to lift a slam trophy in New York five years ago, while Chwalinska follows in the footsteps of Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska in 2020 by making the last four at Roland Garros.
“I honestly don’t know what’s going on,” she said. “Every single match is kind of crazy for me. I’m very grateful.”
Chwalinska, ranked 114, is already guaranteed to double her career prize money with the 750,000 euros (approximately £650,000) for reaching the last four.
She was inspired by Raducanu’s achievement, saying: “It was such an impressive run. Also, she was so young. I think she didn’t drop a set, as well. So it was just incredible. And the players in the qualifying, they are so good. They are great competitors. We just need to believe and fight and just believe that maybe some day it will click for us, as well.”
While Raducanu was winning in New York, Chwalinska had stepped away from the tour completely amid a battle with depression. An indefinite break ended up lasting nearly four months, and she said: “I was struggling a lot. I pushed at the beginning. I thought that I just needed to stay very strong, tough, and just keep practising. But then I just couldn’t get out of bed any more. I was just lifeless, to be honest. I knew that I needed to take a break, because otherwise I’m just not able to live, I think. I honestly didn’t know if I was going to come back or not. I’m happy that I did.”
