PARIS — World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has sent shockwaves through the tennis community after hinting at an early retirement from the sport following a catastrophic mental and physical collapse at Roland Garros.
The top seed suffered one of the most stunning meltdowns in recent Grand Slam history on Wednesday, June 3, imploding from the brink of victory to lose 12 of the final 13 games against 25th seed Diana Shnaider in the quarter-finals. Sabalenka, who was just two points away from wrapping up the match in the second set, ultimately fell to an agonizing 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 defeat.
The dramatic exit leaves the women’s singles draw completely wide open, following the earlier shock departures of major contenders Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina.
’Just Want to Quit’
An emotional Sabalenka did not hide her despair during a raw post-match press conference, admitting that the defeat had left her questioning her future in the sport.
“No thoughts, no emotions,” a visibly exhausted Sabalenka said. “Just want to quit tennis right now, but we’ll see. We’ll see in a 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 guess mentally I got into a very deep, deep, dark hole over there, and I just couldn’t get back mentally on track
.”
The Belarusian added that she was desperate to address her recurring emotional struggles on the big stage.
“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,” she confessed. “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.”
Anatomy of a Meltdown
For over an hour on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Sabalenka looked every bit the tournament favorite, commanding the baseline and sailing to a 6-3, 4-1 lead. Even when the 22-year-old Shnaider mounted a gritty fightback, Sabalenka served for the match at 5-4 and moved to within two points of the semi-finals.
Then, the wheels fell off entirely.
As unforced errors crept into the world number one’s game under windy conditions, Shnaider broke back to level at 5-5 and swept through to take the second set 7-5.
The deciding set quickly turned into a nightmare for the top seed. Sabalenka’s temper flared as she booted a ball toward line judges and ball kids following a missed first serve, forcing her to issue a quick apology. Later, after falling behind 0-30 in the sixth game, she stood motionless and screamed in agony. Shnaider utterly dominated the final set, handing the world’s best player a humiliating 6-0 “bagel” to seal her first-ever Grand Slam semi-final berth.
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Haunted by the Past
The agonizing collapse bore a striking resemblance to Sabalenka’s heartbreak in last year’s Roland Garros final against Coco Gauff. In that match, Sabalenka raced to a commanding 5-1 lead in the opening set before letting the emotional tides turn, eventually losing the match in three sets.
While Sabalenka steps away to heal what she calls her Grand Slam “scar tissue,” Shnaider moves on to face the tournament’s ultimate underdog, Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska, for a place in Saturday’s final.