And that’ll do it for Aryna Sabalenka at Roland Garros.
The No. 1 player in the world bowed out of the French Open on Wednesday in stunning fashion after appearing to be cruising into the semifinals of the Grand Slam.
After winning the opening set against Russia’s Diana Shnaider 6-3, Sabalenka grabbed a 5-3 lead in the second set, needing to win just one game to punch her ticket into the semifinals. The match felt entirely wrapped up for the Belarusian, but then came the shocking meltdown.
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Shnaider somehow managed to claw back and pick up the second set 7-5, and with every ounce of momentum on her side, she stared down the top player on the planet in the deciding third set and didn’t lose a single game.
One of the key turning points of the match came in a deuce situation in the second game of the third set, with Sabalenka holding serve.
After Sabalenka managed to squeeze a forehand over the net, Shnaider got to the ball and left her opponent completely flat-footed on the service line. The four-time Grand Slam winner was left shocked by the shot Shnaider pulled off, and simply threw her hands up in the air in disbelief.
Shnaider, who played collegiately at NC State before turning professional in 2023, will play in the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career against Poland’s Maja Chwalinska.
The Russian, ranked 23rd in the world, will be the favorite, with a spot in the finals on the line, while Chwalinska is ranked outside the top 100.
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While Shnaider’s victory over Sabalenka is a profound upset, shocking results have been a theme for the 2026 French Open.
On the men’s side, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner lost in the second round to Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo despite taking the first two sets of the match.
The best-seeded player left on the women’s side is No. 8 Mirra Andreeva, while No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev is the favorite to win the men’s side ahead of his semifinal matchup.
