Sabalenka says she wanted to quit tennis after French Open upset loss

June 3 (UPI) -- Aryna Sabalenka said she was in a "dark hole" mentally and wanted to quit tennis after an upset loss to Diana Shnaider on Wednesday in a French Open quarterfinal.

The loss snapped a streak of six consecutive semifinal runs at Grand Slams for the top-ranked Belarusian.

"No thoughts, no emotions, I just want to quit tennis right now, but we'll see," Sabalenka told reporters in Paris. "We'll see in a few days. Hopefully, I'll get back on track mentally."

Sabalenka lost the final 10 games of the 2-hour, 12-minute contest. Shnaider broke her serve seven times in the 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 victory. The No. 23 Russian totaled 26 unforced errors, compared to Sabalenka's 57.

"What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, I guess," Sabalenka said. "At some point, I will figure the little situation [out] and will get back tougher."

Sabalenka, a 2025 finalist, broke two of Shnaider's first three serves en route to a 5-1 lead to open the match. Shnaider broke the Belarusian in the seventh game and held in the eighth to cut into the deficit.

Sabalenka then converted for set point. She once again broke two of the Russian's first three serves in the second set for a 4-1 edge.

Shnaider responded by breaking three of Sabalenka's final four serves of the set to tie the match. She broke another trio of Sabalenka's serves in the final set to earn the upset. She clinched match point when Sabalenka fired a backhand return into the net.

"Honestly, I'm speechless," Shnaider said on the TNT/truTV broadcast. "Obviously, today there were tough conditions with the wind, and it was my first time playing Aryna. I was super nervous being in the quarterfinals for the first time."

Sabalenka said "I don't know," when asked how she plans to bounce back. She later said she might visit a business that offers the opportunity to "smash everything" to release her frustration.

"Probably I'll spend the whole day over there tomorrow destroying stuff," Sabalenka said. "Maybe it will help. Maybe not."

With her loss, Sabalenka became the ninth Top 10 women's player to exit the 2026 French Open before the semifinals.

Shnaider will face No. 114 Maja Chwalinska of Poland in the first Grand Slam singles semifinal of her career. The winner will meet No. 15 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine or No. 8 Mirra Andreeva of Russia in the French Open women's final.

Earlier Wednesday, Chwalinska advanced with a 7-6(3), 6-3 win over No. 24 Anna Kalinskaya of Russia.

"I'm expecting a huge fight tomorrow," Shnaider told reporters. "I feel like both of us are going to be leaving it all out there. We have a huge opportunity in front of us.

"I feel like it's going to be a great match."

Women's semifinal coverage will air at 9 a.m. EDT Thursday on TNT and truTV. Men's semifinals coverage will air at 8:30 a.m. Friday on the same networks.

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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 10:16 AM.