![\"Diana](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4e176466ebaba36126b93439e6878680.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nAryna Sabalenka has lamented that she wants to “quit tennis right now” after her shock three-set loss to Russian Diana Shnaider in the French Open quarterfinals, as the world number one let opportunities slip in the second set.<\/p>\n
The Belarusian handled the blustery conditions to win the opening set, forged a commanding 4-1 lead in the second, and was two points away from victory when serving at 5-4, but that was when the contest began to turn, and Shnaider won the last 10 games to prevail 3-6, 7-5, 6-0.<\/p>\n
The loss was so devastating that the four-time grand slam champion said she did not want to see a tennis court.<\/p>\n
“No thoughts, no emotions, [I] just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka told reporters.<\/p>\n
“But we’ll see in a few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.<\/p>\n
“I screwed \u200cup, and then she stepped in, and she played great. I feel like mentally I couldn’t really recover after \u2060[the] second set. That really was the biggest mistake,” she added.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know the last time I \u200clost 10 games in a row \u2026 I guess mentally I got into [a] very deep, \u200cdark hole over there, and I just couldn’t get back mentally on track.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Diana Shnaider said she made note of how Sabalenka struggled in the wind in last year’s final. (Getty Images: Ibrahim Ezzat\/NurPhoto)<\/p>\n
Sabalenka was puzzled by the decision to keep the roof of Court Philippe-Chatrier open as the wind caused issues for both players, sweeping red dirt into their faces at times, and affecting their ability to control their shots throughout.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know why would they \u200ckeep the roof open when it was crazy windy,” last year’s runner-up Sabalenka added.<\/p>\n
“But how can I complain if for almost the whole match everything was working okay for me, but then it just slipped away. I \u2060feel like it was getting crazy maybe just because mentally \u200cI wasn’t really okay.<\/p>\n
“Even though I was \u200cwinning, it was dirty tennis. I don’t know how people could actually just sit there and watch me play. Then at \u200csome point she stepped in, and she played unbelievable in those conditions.”<\/p>\n
Shnaider was also surprised.<\/p>\n
“I was warming up with a closed roof. I didn’t know they were \u200cgoing to open it up. They \u2060were starting to open it right when I was finishing my warm-up,” Shnaider said.<\/p>\n
“I was a little bit surprised with that decision. But again, the conditions were very tough; there were a lot of dirty shots, it was very unpredictable, \u2060a lot of wind and a lot of sand.<\/p>\n
“I was a little annoyed more in the first set, but I tried \u200cto keep reminding \u200cmyself that it’s [the] same conditions for the both of us. I’ve got to admit it that it’s tough, and I needed to figure out what I have to do.”<\/p>\n
All of Sabalenka’s grand slam titles have come on hard courts, and she said she needed to crack the code on clay and grass.<\/p>\n
“I really feel great on clay. I \u2060feel great on grass,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know, maybe I’m focusing too much that I’ve never won a slam on each surface, and maybe it’s making me overthink stuff, making me over-emotional in some moments.<\/p>\n
“This is something that I have to step back and try to find a solution for, because I’m just \u2060so tired losing matches not in the best way, just because I was over-emotional.”<\/p>\n
Sabalenka was criticised after losing last year’s final for saying “in terrible conditions [she] showed terrible tennis”, later adding Iga \u015awi\u0105tek would have won the final against Coco Gauff had Sabalenka not won their semifinal.<\/p>\n