Sabalenka collapses from match point away, loses last 10 games at French Open and says she wants to 'quit tennis'

The match

Aryna Sabalenka entered her quarterfinal against Russia's Diana Shnaider as the last top-five player remaining in the women's draw. She won the opening set 6-3 and built a 4-1 lead in the second, eventually serving for the match at 5-4 with a 30-15 advantage. From that point, the world number one did not win another game. Shnaider reeled off the next three games to take the second set 7-5, then swept the decider 6-0, winning 10 consecutive games to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.

Sabalenka finished with 57 unforced errors, many coming as blustery winds on Court Philippe Chatrier kicked clay into the players' faces. Both competitors described the tennis as 'dirty,' with Shnaider saying the wind was so strong 'there was no clay left,' making it difficult to slide. Tournament organizers kept the roof open throughout the match, a decision Sabalenka questioned afterward. The roof was closed before the following men's quarterfinal, with organizers citing rain risk.

Sabalenka's reaction

In her press conference, Sabalenka described a complete mental unravelling. 'No thoughts, no emotions. Just want to quit tennis right now,' she said, adding that she hoped to 'get back on track mentally' in the coming days. She characterized her state during the collapse as a 'deep, dark hole' from which she could not recover.

I don't know the last time I lost 10 games in a row... I guess mentally I got into very deep, dark hole over there, and I just couldn't get back mentally on track.

The four-time Grand Slam champion drew a parallel to her 2025 final loss to Coco Gauff, another match where she won the first set before unforced errors piled up. Sabalenka said she planned to spend a full day in a rage room destroying objects, calling it a possible coping mechanism. She also acknowledged that her pursuit of a first major title on clay or grass may be causing her to overthink in pivotal moments.

The roof controversy

Sabalenka was puzzled by the decision to leave the Court Philippe Chatrier roof open. 'I don't know why would they keep the roof open when it was crazy windy,' she said. Shnaider was also 'surprised' by the choice. Roland Garros rules permit closing the roof only when wind speeds are below 60 km/h, and the referee may order it closed as a precaution if rain is forecast. Félix Auger-Aliassime, who played the next match under a closed roof, said he was told rain possibility drove the later decision.

Even though I was winning, it was dirty tennis. I don't know how people could actually just sit there and watch me play.

A tournament of upsets

Sabalenka's exit extends a pattern of surprises at Roland Garros 2026. Defending champion Iga Swiatek fell in the fourth round to Marta Kostyuk. Coco Gauff, the 2025 winner, lost in the third round. On the men's side, world number one Jannik Sinner was eliminated in the second round by Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, ending a 30-match winning streak. Novak Djokovic also departed early. Only one of the four women's semifinalists, Mirra Andreeva, is ranked inside the top 10.

Shnaider, the 25th seed, will face Poland's Maja Chwalinska, ranked 114th and a qualifier, for a spot in the final. The other semifinal pairs Andreeva against Kostyuk. Shnaider had beaten a top-10 opponent only once before Wednesday.

I knew that I need to take a break, because otherwise I'm just not able to, like, live, I think.

What comes next

Sabalenka said she needs to 'sit back and openly think about what's going on in my head in those tough moments.' All four of her Grand Slam titles have come on hardcourts. She described feeling 'so tired losing matches not in the best way, just because I was over-emotional' and said she must find a solution. The Belarusian did not commit to a timeline for her return, saying only 'we'll see in a few days.'