Aryna Sabalenka loses bid for French Open title to Diana Shnaider

Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for a first French Open title ended in a stunning quarterfinal loss to Diana Shnaider, who rallied after trailing by a set and a break. Shnaider won 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 in Paris after Sabalenka held a 5-3 lead in the second set and was one game from the semifinals, according to The New York Post.

The match swung in windy conditions on Court Philippe-Chatrier, where gusts reached 26 mph early, Yahoo Sports confirmed. Sabalenka took the first set 6-3 and built a 4-1 lead in the second before Shnaider turned the match with four straight games to close the set.

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Diana Shnaider’s breakthrough

Shnaider then seized control, racing to a 5-0 lead in the final set before finishing the match with a 6-0 bagel, The New York Post noted. The result gave the 22-year-old Russian her first Grand Slam semifinal berth and marked her best run at a major, after previously reaching the fourth round at the 2024 U.S. Open, Yahoo Sports reported.

Shnaider, who played college tennis at North Carolina State, will next face Maja Chwalinska, a 114th-ranked qualifier who also pulled an upset in the quarterfinals, according to The New York Post. The other semifinal will feature Marta Kostyuk and Mirra Andreeva.

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Sabalenka’s French Open streak ends

For Sabalenka, the defeat extends a pattern of deep French Open runs without a title. Yahoo Sports reported that she has reached the later rounds in each of the past four years but has never won the tournament.

The loss also erased what had looked like Sabalenka’s best chance to break through at Roland-Garros, with several top women’s seeds already out before the quarterfinals, according to Yahoo Sports. That left the women’s draw wide open until Shnaider closed the door on the world No. 1.