Sabalenka Collapses in Paris: Ten Straight Games and the Outburst in the Press Room

Diana Shnaider has knocked out Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, prevailing 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 on Court Philippe-Chatrier. For the Russian, the No. 25 seed and world No. 23, it is the first win of her career against a world No. 1.

The Belarusian's collapse has few recent precedents. Sabalenka, the top seed, was leading 6-3, 4-1 and served for the match at 5-4 in the second set, squandering two match points. From there she lost ten consecutive games, dropping the second set 7-5 and the third with a stark 6-0. Fifty-seven unforced errors, on a windy day with the roof left open, a condition Sabalenka herself complained about after the match.

In the press conference, asked about how she felt, she replied: "No thoughts, no emotions. Just want to quit tennis right now." Words she immediately walked back, though: "But we'll see. We'll see in a few days. Hopefully I'll get back on track mentally." Not a retirement announcement, then, but the raw outburst of a shaken player. She spoke of having ended up in a "very deep, deep dark hole" from which she couldn't pull herself out mentally.

For Shnaider, twenty-two years old, it is the first Slam semifinal of her career. She will face Polish qualifier Maja Chwalińska, world No. 114: in the women's draw in Paris, a first-time Grand Slam champion is now guaranteed.

Sabalenka's exit ends a streak of fourteen consecutive Slam quarterfinals. What stands out is not so much the defeat itself as the way it unfolded: rarely had a world No. 1 found herself so close to victory only to lose her way entirely, all the way to a third set without a single game won.