A furious Aryna Sabalenka threatened to quit tennis after she suffered a complete French Open meltdown as her hopes of winning a fifth Grand Slam were blown away by the wind at Roland Garros.
The world number one said she planned to spend a day ‘destroying stuff’ after she lost the last 10 games of her quarter-final against Diana Shnaider despite at one stage being just two points from victory.
Sabalenka was even forced to apologise as she booted a ball in frustration after a missed first serve that flew towards a line judge and ball kids and bounced into the crowd.
‘No thoughts, no emotions,’ said Sabalenka. ‘Just want to quit tennis right now, but we’ll see. We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.
‘I don’t know when the last time that happened to me that I lost 10 games in a row. I don’t know. I guess mentally I got into very deep, deep, dark hole over there, and I just couldn’t get back mentally on track.
Aryna Sabalenka has crashed out of the French Open in a stunning result for the world No 1
Sabalenka’s defeat comes after Jannik Sinner crashed out in the searing Parisian heat
‘This is something that I actually have to kind of 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.
‘What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, I guess. At some point I will figure that little situation, and I only will get back tougher.
‘Actually, I just figured how I can overcome it. You know those rooms where you just go in and you smash everything? I will probably spend a whole day tomorrow over there destroying stuff. Maybe it will help; maybe not.’
Sabalenka suffered a similar capitulation in the final here last year when she led Coco Guaff 5-1 in the opening set only to lose in three.
The 28-year-old was cruising once again until the fierce winds whipped up around Philippe Chatrier and the increasingly-annoyed Sabalenka constantly stopped to wave dust away from her face.
Sabalenka led 4-1 in the second set after taking the first 6-3 but went on to suffer her first bagel since 2024 in the decider.
‘Honestly, I am speechless,’ said Shnaider. ‘I am super happy, it was tough conditions with the wind and the first time playing her. I was super nervous. The first set was just trying to get used to her game and the cindi. I was tryign to focus point by pitin, not thijking about the score. She is the world number one so try to do my besrt untol the end to see how it goes and just fight for every poitn.
Sabelenka continued to sport the diamond and garnet necklaces and matching earrings, worth £75,000, that she also wore during her pre-tournament media protest in demands for more prize money.
Her exit means its the first time a Grand Slam has reached the semi-final stage without a former champion in either the men’s and women’s singles draws.
