World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka discusses French Open meltdown

Aryna Sabalenka. Susan Mullane-Imagn Images

'Want to quit tennis': World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka discusses French Open meltdown

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Jun 3, 2026 2:43 PM ET

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka wanted to discuss anything but tennis after losing in her French Open quarterfinal on Wednesday.

Sabalenka lost to No. 25 seed Diana Shnaider, 6-3, 5-7, 0-6, dropping the final 10 games of the match. The frustrating performance left her wanting to take a sabbatical from the sport.

Aryna Sabalenka reacts to French Open loss

"No thoughts, no emotions, [I] just want to quit tennis right now," Sabalenka said in a post-match news conference. "We'll see [in a] few days. Hopefully, I'll get back on track."

Sabalenka cruised through the first four rounds of the French Open, winning each of her matches in straight sets. Breezing through the early rounds of the Grand Slam may have contributed to her collapse on Wednesday.

"No thoughts, no emotions. Just want to quit tennis right now..."

Aryna Sabalenka after her loss to No. 25 Diana Shnaider #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/C87w8mf6XM
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) June 3, 2026

She clearly wasn't battle-tested after boat racing through most of the tournament. When the four-time Grand Slam winner finally dropped one, she felt she couldn't rebound.

"Mentally, I couldn't recover from the second set," she told the media. "I don't know the last time I lost 10 games in a row. Mentally, I entered a very deep hole."

Sabalenka should soon climb out of the deep hole. She will now prepare for Wimbledon, which is scheduled from June 29 to July 12 at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London. "The Tiger" has recently excelled at the grass-court tournament, reaching the semifinals in 2021, 2023 and 2025.

Perhaps she'll use the French Open loss as fuel to win Wimbledon for the first time. But before she prepares to do that, expect Sabalenka to take a nice, long break. She clearly doesn't want to set foot on a court, let alone touch a racket for a few days.

Clark Dalton

Clark Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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