Aryna Sabalenka gave a frank explanation of her quarter-final defeat to Diana Shnaider at Roland-Garros, admitting it was as much a mental battle as a technical one.
The world No.1 looked in control when she led 6-3, 4-1, but Shnaider turned the match around to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-0.
Sabalenka did not shy away from the mental side of the collapse, offering a clear assessment of what went wrong.
Aryna Sabalenka admits mental struggle after losing 10 straight games
Sabalenka admitted the collapse was hard to process after she lost the final 10 games of the match.
“I don’t know when was the last time that happened to me, that I lost 10 games in a row,” she said.
“I guess mentally I got into a very deep, dark hole over there, and I just couldn’t get back mentally on track.”
In a clip shared by ESPN Brasil, Sabalenka said: “No thoughts, no emotions, today I just wanted to quit tennis. But let’s see in the next few days. I hope to get back to normal mentally.”
Sabalenka said she started to overthink, make simple mistakes, and miss opportunities, while Shnaider played with growing freedom.
“Sometimes it’s really tough to hold the pressure and put it back on the opponent,” she said.
Sabalenka faces a test of resilience after rare Grand Slam setback
The defeat was unusual for Sabalenka, who has been a consistent performer at this stage. Roland-Garros noted it was only her second Grand Slam quarter-final defeat in 15 appearances.
That gives the result extra weight, but her response was measured. Sabalenka said she needs to “figure out that little thing” that stops working in tough moments.
The scoreline will sting, given the lead she held. But her comments highlighted how quickly momentum can shift, even for a world No.1.
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