In the context of many heavyweights such as Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff or Elena Rybakina being eliminated early, Sabalenka is considered the leading candidate for the championship. The Belarusian player had a favorable start on Philippe Chatrier's court when she won 6-3 in the first set and led 4-1 in the second set.
However, a turning point appeared when Diana Shnaider strongly rose up. The Russian player continuously put pressure with accurate long ball controls from the baseline, thereby winning 6 out of 7 games in the last set to equalize the score of the match.
In the decisive set, Sabalenka completely lost the game. The 4-Grand Slam champion continuously made many unforced errors, while Shnaider maintained stability to win 6-0, completing a comeback after more than 2 hours of play.
This is the first time since the beginning of 2024 that Sabalenka has lost a set with a score of 0-6. This defeat also caused the world No. 1 player to continue missing his first Roland Garros title in his career.
After the match, Sabalenka admitted to having psychological problems. "Currently I just want to leave tennis. Maybe in a few days everything will be different and I hope to stabilize soon," she shared at the press conference.
The Belarusian player is also not satisfied with the decision to open the Philippe Chatrier court roof in strong wind conditions. According to Sabalenka, this significantly affects professional quality and makes it difficult for players to control the ball.
In the opposite direction, the victory over Sabalenka helped Diana Shnaider defeat the world No. 1 player for the first time in her career, and also win a ticket to the first Grand Slam semi-finals.
Shnaider's next opponent is Polish phenomenon Maja Chwalinska. Meanwhile, the remaining semi-final is a showdown between Mirra Andreeva and Marta Kostyuk.
In the men's singles, Roland Garros 2026 semi-final pairs have also been determined, including Alexander Zverev against Jakub Mensik and Flavio Cobolli against Matteo Arnaldi.
