'I just want to quit tennis right now': Aryna Sabalenka after shocking French Open loss

The 2026 French Open is all about shock losses and surprise upsets. After Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic crashed out from the men's singles draw, Belarusian tennis star Aryna Sabalenka had an earlier exit than expected from Roland Garros. With Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek already out from the women's singles draw, she was the clear favourite.

The four-time Grand Slam winner was defeated by Russia's Diana Shnaider in the quarter-final of the French Open on Wednesday, after losing 10 straight games. Crestfallen, the tennis champion said she wants to quit tennis at the moment.

Aryna Sabalenka heartbroken after shock French Open loss

Aryna Sabalenka is currently World No. 1 in women's tennis and was looking forward to winning her maiden French Open title. She was the only seasoned contender for the trophy given the early exit of most of her opponents.

However, this is a French Open of surprises and even Aryna was part of the script. The 28-year-old was in a winning position against 22-year Diana Shnaider but shockingly lost 10 consecutive games as victory slipped away.

The match ended 3-6, 7-5, 6-0, with Aryna leading 3-6, 3-5 before everything went wrong for her on Court Philippe Chartrier, on a particularly windy day.

A tough day at work for Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka, known and respected for her competitive spirit, was visibly shattered at the post-match press conference. "No thoughts, no emotions. I just want to quit tennis right now, but we'll see in a few days. Hopefully I'll get back on track mentally," she ⁠said.

Reflecting on her loss, the Belarusian continued, "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 from me."

"I don't know when the last time was that I lost 10 games in a row. I guess mentally I got into a very deep, dark hole over there ‌and I just couldn't get back on track mentally. I actually have to 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", a heartbroken Aryna shared.

Bouncing back from the devastating loss seems impossible for one of the best tennis players at the moment, but fans and critics have full faith. "I have been through so many things, and I overcome so many things. I just have to figure that little thing that is not working for me sometimes, and hopefully I can overcome it", Aryna added.

Aryna shared how she might deal with the loss. She said, "You know those rooms where you go in and smash everything? Probably I will spend a whole day tomorrow over there destroying stuff."

A major factor in Aryna Sabalenka's loss was the wind that didn't favour her play. The tennis player is confused why the roof of the court was kept open but she feels she is not in a position to complain either.

"But how can I complain if for almost the whole match everything was working okay for me, and then it just slipped away?", she said.

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