Women's top seed Aryna Sabalenka spoke of a descent into a deep dark hole after she lost 10 consecutive games on Wednesday afternoon to go from the brink of qualifying for the French Open semi-finals to elimination.
Issued on: 03/06/2026 - 20:19
2 min Reading time
The world number one led Diana Schnaider 6-3, 5-3 with a chance to serve for the match on centre court at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris. But she fluffed her chance as Schnaider reeled off four consecutive games to take the second set 7-5. The 22-year-old Russian rolled through the decider 6-0 to reach the semi-finals at one of the four Grand Slam tournaments for the first time. "I guess mentally I got into a very deep, deep, dark hole," said Sabalenka who lost in the 2025 French Open women's singles final to Coco Gauff. "And I just couldn't get back mentally on track. I really feel great on clay. I feel great on grass," added the 28-year-old Belarusian.
From 6-3, 5-3 up, top seed Aryna Sabalenka lost 10 consecutive games against the 25th seed Diana Schnaider to slump out of the French Open 6-3, 5-7- 0-6. © Pierre René-Worms/RFI
