Aryna Sabalenka admits quitting thoughts after French Open collapse

World number one Aryna Sabalenka admitted she briefly felt like walking away from tennis after suffering a dramatic collapse in her French Open quarter-final defeat to Diana Shnaider on Wednesday.

Sabalenka looked set for a comfortable victory on Court Philippe Chatrier after taking the opening set and surging into a 4-1 lead in the second with a double-break advantage.

However, the Belarusian was unable to maintain her momentum as Shnaider mounted an extraordinary comeback to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 and secure a place in the semi-finals.

The top seed endured one of the most difficult matches of her career, committing 57 unforced errors and losing the final 10 games in succession as the contest slipped dramatically from her grasp.

Speaking after the match, Sabalenka openly expressed her disappointment.

“No thoughts, no emotions. Just want to quit tennis right now,” she said during her post-match press conference.

“But we’ll see. We’ll see in a few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.”

The three-time Grand Slam champion later reflected on the mental challenges she faced during the encounter.

“I don’t know when was the last time that happened to me, that I lost 10 games in a row. I don’t know. I guess mentally I got into very deep, deep, dark hole over there, and I just couldn’t get back mentally on track,” Aryna Sabalenka told reporters.

Although Sabalenka has established herself as one of the dominant figures on the WTA Tour, all four of her Grand Slam titles have come on hard courts.

It is pertinent to mention that her pursuit of a maiden French Open and Wimbledon crown remains unfinished.