Stunning Aryna Sabalenka Roland-Garros result leads to rare semifinal field

With Shnaider advancing, the women's bracket has three first-time grand slam semifinalists. She plays Maja Chwalinska, who hadn't made it past the qualifying rounds of the last four grand slams dating back to the 2025 French Open, next. In the other semifinal, Marta Kostyuk plays No. 8 seed Mirra Andreeva — the lone player to have previously made a grand slam semifinal — after entering 2026 Roland-Garros with a 1-5 record in her last six tournament matches.

No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula's first-round loss to unseeded Kimberly Birrell set the tone for an unpredictable French Open. No. 2 Elena Rybakina lost to Yuliia Starodubsteva in a second-round third-set tiebreak, followed by No. 4 Coco Gauff falling in the Round of 32 to No. 28 Anastasia Potapova.

Kotsyuk upset four-time champion Iga Swiatek in the fourth-round ahead of Shnaider's quarterfinal triumph over Sabalenka.

The men's draw has also had its share of upsets, with No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic and No. 5 seed Ben Shelton both exiting before the second week. Among remaining players in the bracket, No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berretini are the only two who have reached a grand slam final, although neither has won one, making this year's Roland-Garros the first grand slam since the 1977 French Open without a major champion among the semifinalist field.

While no one predicted the draw to play out this way, that's what makes the pending semifinals so compelling. Those remaining have a golden opportunity to win their elusive first grand slam, capitalizing on a rare wide-open field. Few, if any, may ever get a better chance.