'I don’t know...' - Aryna Sabalenka questions what Roland Garros chiefs did during shock quarter-final defeat
Aryna Sabalenka has questioned a decision made by Roland Garros officials during her shock French Open quarter-final defeat to Diana Shnaider - but says she cannot have any complaints about the match outcome.
World number one Sabalenka looked to be cruising through to the semi-finals at Roland Garros after going 6-3, 5-3 up against her Russian opponent.
But Shnaider rallied to win the second set in a tiebreak, before Sabalenka left tennis fans everywhere stunned by falling apart in the decisive third set and losing it 6-0.
The four-time Grand Slam champion had been tipped as the heavy favourite to win the tournament, with many of the WTA's top stars having suffered early eliminations.
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Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek all failed to make it through to the quarter-finals, leaving Sabalenka as the leading contender to lift her first Roland Garros title.
But she too fell by the wayside against world number 25 Shnaider, who had not reached the quarter-finals at any previous major.
'I remember even from last year...' - Sabalenka questions key Roland Garros decision
Conditions were exceptionally windy throughout parts of the match for both players, and while Sabalenka did not offer any excuses for her defeat, questioned in her post-match conference why the roof over Court Philippe Chatrie remained open.
"I don't know why they would keep the roof open when it was crazy windy," she said.
"But how can I complain if, for almost the whole match, everything was working okay for me, and then it just slipped away? I feel like it was getting crazy, maybe just because mentally I wasn't really okay.
"I remember even from last year, they kept the roof open for us, and then the next day, in similar conditions, they closed it for the men. To make better conditions and better quality of tennis, I believe. I don't know why they would keep it open.
"Even though I was winning, it was very dirty tennis. I don't know how people could actually sit there and watch. And then at some point, she [Shnaider] stepped in and played unbelievable."
Sabalenka didn't hold back when discussing her own mental state following her shock defeat.
"No thoughts, no emotions. I just want to quit tennis right now," she told reporters. "But we'll see in a few days. Hopefully I'll get back on track mentally.
"I feel I had very decent opportunities in the second set. I screwed up, and then she stepped in and she played great.
"I feel mentally I couldn't really recover after the second set - I think that was the biggest mistake for me. I don't know when the last time was I lost 10 games in a row."
Shnaider takes on Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska, who had only won one previous Grand Slam match all the way back in 2022, in the semi-finals at Roland Garros.
The other semi-final sees Russia's Mirra Andreeva take on Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk, with one of the four players set to win their first-ever Grand Slam.
Topics: Tennis
Ryan Smart