Aryna Sabalenka’s attempt to claim her maiden French Open crown collapsed in the quarter-finals after a chaotic loss to Russian 25th seed Diana Shnaider, a defeat that turned a promising match into a storm of unforced errors in windy conditions at Court Philippe Chatrier.
The world No. 1 had led by a set and even carried a double-break advantage before her level fell away dramatically. By the time the dust settled, she had gone down 3-6, 7-5, 6-0, exiting Roland Garros in emphatic fashion as her game unraveled.
After the win, Shnaider reflected on facing Sabalenka at a time when emotions appeared to play a role. “I feel like when I saw her being emotional, I was, like, ‘Yes, like, you are in the right direction, you’ve got to stay, just focus on yourself, don’t focus too much on her, what she’s talking to her team or whatever she’s doing,’” she said, following a landmark triumph over a top-10 opponent for only the second time in her career.
With that momentum behind her, Shnaider set up a semi-final against Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska. The other last-four spot will be decided between Marta Kostyuk and Mirra Andreeva, with the winner to meet Shnaider in Sunday’s final.
Shnaider also spoke about the challenge Chwalinska presents. “She’s a very tricky player, so I’m not surprised that she’s good. Sometimes, it just takes time,” said the 22-year-old, pointing to her experience of beating the left-hander at a lower-tier event in Istanbul four years ago.
Sabalenka had entered the tournament as the last remaining Grand Slam champion in either the men’s or women’s singles draw at Roland Garros. Yet her reputation for big-match control failed to show, with the match defining itself through 57 unforced errors.
When asked how she would respond to the setback, Sabalenka offered a light-hearted but revealing plan. “You know those rooms where you just go in and you smash everything?” she smiled. “Probably I will spend a whole day tomorrow over there destroying stuff. Maybe it will help, maybe not.”
Shnaider, who was contesting her first major quarter-final, now looks well placed to reach the championship match. She carries strong momentum into the semi-final against Chwalinska, who is ranked world No. 114, and the contest is framed as a left-handed battle given both players’ orientation.
“Definitely a special tournament for me here,” added the Russian. “It’s going be a lefty battle so I’m looking forward (to the semi-final).”
Sabalenka’s collapse carried echoes of last year’s final, when she threw away a strong position against Coco Gauff in similarly difficult conditions. Shnaider suggested that the lesson had been clear in her mind.
“I knew the final, last year, I watched it. I knew that it was also super windy,” Shnaider said. “So of course I had that thought in the back of my mind that she was struggling with Coco last year. I was, like, ‘Yeah, I’ve got to use this opportunity, I need to just adjust and do my best’.”
The defeat also ended a remarkable run for Sabalenka, who was appearing in her 14th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final. Still, she fell short of becoming the first woman to reach seven straight major semi-finals since Serena Williams.
From the opening set, Sabalenka looked set to dominate. She stormed into a 5-1 lead and eventually claimed the first set on her third set point, after initially failing to close it out by serving it through.
The second set began with a similar outline early on. Sabalenka moved 4-1 ahead and even earned a double-break, only to waste the advantage by dropping the next service game.
As the level of play became more erratic, Sabalenka’s frustration grew. She handed Shnaider three break opportunities, allowing the Russian to draw level at 4-4.
In a visible moment of intensity, Sabalenka argued animatedly with her team box before settling herself enough to hold serve. However, her game continued to disintegrate, and a sequence of poor unforced errors let Shnaider break again to level the set at 5-5.
At that point, Sabalenka responded with exaggerated gestures toward her coaching staff, but Shnaider seized the initiative. The Russian benefited from two successive forehands that Sabalenka sent into the bottom of the net, finishing the set and pushing the match into a deciding third.
Shnaider’s confidence rose quickly in the decider as she raced to a 2-0 advantage. Sabalenka then sprayed eight unforced errors around Court Philippe Chatrier within just two games, giving Shnaider the opening she needed to take control.
From there, Shnaider never truly looked in danger. She swept through to victory, sealing her semi-final place when Sabalenka drove a routine backhand into the net on the third match point.
The final scoreline left Sabalenka stunned, and the world No. 1 had little to offer in the last set, winning only 14 points as she had to trudge off court after the dramatic 6-0 turnaround.
