Boris Becker has a clear message for Aryna Sabalenka after her defeat in the Roland Garros quarter-finals.
Sabalenka was beaten by Diana Shnaider 6-3, 5-7, 6-0, despite leading the quarter-final match by a set and 4-1.
The world number one was clearly frustrated throughout the match, with Sabalenka struggling in the windy conditions after the Court Philippe-Chatrier roof was left open.
Sabalenka even admitted she wanted to ‘quit’ tennis after her defeat to Shnaider, and Becker believes she has a clear weakness that needs to change.
Boris Becker calls Aryna Sabalenka’s mentality ‘a clear weakness’
Becker reacted to Sabalenka’s defeat to Shnaider for Eurosport Germany, claiming that her biggest weakness is her mentality.
“She’s always emotionally on the edge, sometimes over the edge,” said Becker. “Today she was emotionally over it.
“That’s a very clear weakness of Sabalenka’s. It’s not her backhand, not her forehand – it’s her inner stability, her mentality.”
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There have been a lot of comparisons made between Sabalenka’s latest defeat and her loss to Coco Gauff in the Roland Garros final last year, where she also suffered in tricky windy conditions.
Becker believes that this is a recurring issue for Sabalenka at major tournaments and one that she needs to address.
“These scenes repeat themselves. She has a match like this at every Grand Slam,” added Becker. “She needs to change something.”
Aryna Sabalenka suffers unwanted history after losing to Diana Shnaider
The manner of Sabalenka’s defeat has meant that she has achieved unwanted history at a Grand Slam tournament.
After losing the third set to Shnaider 6-0, Sabalenka has become the fourth world number one to lose a deciding set without winning a game at a Grand Slam.
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The first of these three instances occurred when Steffi Graf beat top seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the 1995 Roland Garros final 7-5, 4-6, 6-0.
Serena Williams became the second player to achieve this in the 2005 Australian Open final, where she beat Lindsay Davenport 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.
Maria Sharapova then won two 6-0 sets against Amelie Mauresmo at the 2006 US Open, and Sabalenka is the first world number one to lose a deciding set 6-0 at a Grand Slam in 20 years.
Sabalenka will be hoping to move past this disappointment during the grass court season, while she will begin at the Berlin Open, before Wimbledon.
