Aryna Sabalenka ended up not coming all that close to claiming her first French Open title in 2026. She was bounced out in the quarterfinals by Diana Shnaider. To make matters worse, Sabalenka didn't win a single game in the third and final set. It was embarrassing for the WTA No. 1.
She doubled down on that feeling in her post-match press conference by admitting that she "just wants to quit tennis right now." Of course, she didn't mean forever. The Belarusian just needed a break, partly hiding from herself and how she performed.
She was angry at herself for how she played. Sabalenka had a right to be. With a wide-open field left at the French Open, the Roland Garros crown was hers to take, and she couldn't do it. She isn't at her best on clay anyway, but she also might never have a better chance to win in Paris.
Aryna Sabalenka has a right to be angry at the French Open
Aryna Sabalenka also had a right to be angry at the French Open, though. The major gives preference to men's players normally. Since 2021, when night matches became the norm, only four women's matches have been featured.
The implied sexism might have been further proven during the top-seed's match against Shnaider. The wind swirled with great force, affecting the performance of both players. What made the matter worse was that ahead of the second set in the next match, featuring men's players Felix Auger-Aliassime and Flavio Cobolli, the French Open decided to close the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
That was the same court that Sabalenka played Shnaider, and with the same issue in the weather conditions. Roland Garros could have closed the roof earlier, but chose not to.
Speaking with the media after her loss to Shnaider, Sabalenka offered the question many tennis fans might have been asking: "I don't know why they would keep the roof open when it was crazy windy." In truth, the French Open didn't. It was closed for the men's match that followed, but didn't offer the same level of respect for the only women's match of the day.
To be fair, Diana Shnaider played better, and Aryna Sabalenka admitted to as much. Still, the Belarusian's questioning of the situation is correct and logical. Would the roof being closed have affected the outcome of the women's match? We will never know, but unlikely. What is clear is that the level of play would have been better. The French Open never gave that a chance, though.
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