Aryna Sabalenka’s hopes of winning her first Roland Garros title ended on Wednesday afternoon.
The world number one suffered a stunning collapse against 25th seed Diana Shnaider, conceding 10 straight games to lose the quarter-final match 6-1, 5-7, 0-6.
Shnaider was left ‘speechless’ after the contest, while Sabalenka confessed she felt like ‘quitting’ tennis.
The Belarusian struggled to deal with the windy conditions inside Court Philippe Chatrier and let her emotions get the better of her once again.
What’s next for Aryna Sabalenka after shock French Open exit?
Sabalenka will need to bounce back quickly before the grass-court swing, and Jim Courier has offered the Belarusian some advice on how to do so.
Jim Courier tells Aryna Sabalenka to draw inspiration from Jannik Sinner’s response after losing the 2025 Roland Garros final
“All of these moments are opportunities for growth, if you want to put a positive spin on. It’s opportunities to learn more about yourself and to have that bounce back moment,” Courier, a four-time major champion, said during TNT Sports’ post-match analysis.
The American, twice a champion at Roland Garros, said that Sabalenka can draw inspiration from Jannik Sinner’s tumultuous summer last year.
Sinner suffered heartbreak in the 2025 Roland Garros final, squandering three championship point opportunities before losing a five-set thriller to Carlos Alcaraz.
A month later, Sinner lifted the Wimbledon trophy after defeating Alcaraz in the final.
“Jannik Sinner had that amazing bounce back moment after having three championship points here last year,” Courier continued. “He went back to work on the grass and became a Wimbledon champion for the first time.
“And I’m sure that a lot of her reactions today within the match were related to the scar tissue from last year’s final, where it was super windy, and she wasn’t able to handle that moment against Coco Gauff.
“And then, it must have been incredibly frustrating for her to see the roof get closed after one set of the men’s quarterfinal that followed her match. I hope she’s not even aware of that.
“Because that would be really, really tough to take, because I think, I think we all recognised that in calm condition, she would have probably been able to finish that match off.
“Yeah, maybe Sabalenka has gone and hidden under a stone somewhere, but I probably think she did understand that there was a roof, and it could have been closed, and it then was closed as soon as she left the court.”
Sabalenka’s contest against Shnaider was played in very windy conditions, leading Sabalenka to question the decision to keep the roof open during her post-match press conference.
“I don’t know why they would keep the roof open when it was crazy windy,” the Belarusian told reporters in Paris.
Midway through the next match on Court Philippe Chatrier – between Flavio Cobolli and Felix Auger-Aliassime – the roof was closed due to the wind.
John McEnroe believes the roof should have been closed during Aryna Sabalenka’s match
John McEnroe, a seven-time major champion, weighed in on the roof closure debate while commentating for TNT Sports.
When asked if the roof should have been closed during Sabalenka and Shnaider’s contest, McEnroe replied: “Yes.
“Me personally, I want to see quality and the way to give yourself the best chance is to close the roof in this situation.”
“These players in this tournament have probably dealt with more challenging situations than any tournament I can recall. Brutal heat, all of sudden these gusty winds. The good news is it’s not hot.”
The roof may need to be closed again on Thursday during the women’s singles semi-finals.
There is a good chance rain will fall in Paris on Thursday. At 6pm today, BBC Weather have predicted a 62 per cent chance of rainfall.
