World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka’s shocking loss in the Roland-Garros quarterfinals opens the draw to a first-time Grand Slam champion—but it also sets up a tense semifinals with significant geopolitical implications.
Sabalenka, who is from Belarus, fell to Russia’s Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals Wednesday, leaving two Russian players in the semis draw, one on each side of the bracket. Shnaider will face Poland’s Maja Chwalińska, while Russia’s world No. 8 Mirra Andreeva, the only top-10 player remaining, will face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
The high-profile matches come as Ukrainian players continue to be outspoken about their issues with Russian and Belarusian players amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, which has been aided by Belarus. Poland borders both Belarus and Ukraine and has historically been one of the latter’s strongest allies.
Last week, after Kostyuk’s first round win in Paris, Kostyuk said a missile destroyed a building “100 meters away” from her parents’ home in Ukraine.
“I think it’s important to keep going. My biggest example is Ukrainian people,” an emotional Kostyuk said after her match.
