Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka lost to Diana Schneider in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and was eliminated at Roland Garros.
Published June 3, 2026
Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for her first French Open title fell apart with a bizarre loss to Russia’s 25th seed Diana Schneider in the quarter-finals.
The world No. 1 led with a set and a double break, but a series of unforced errors on Wednesday ended the tournament with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 defeat on Court Philippe Chatrier.
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Schneider will face Polish qualifier Maja Czwarinska in Thursday’s semifinals, and Marta Kostyuk or Mila Andreeva will await the winner in Sunday’s final.
“Honestly, I’m speechless. I’m very happy. It’s windy and obviously tough conditions,” Schneider, 22, said after winning for the second time in his career over a top-10 player.
“I was definitely very nervous because it was my first time playing with Alina, and I feel like the first set was just trying to adapt to her game.”
Sabalenka was the only remaining Grand Slam champion in the men’s and women’s singles bracket at Roland Garros, but she belied her status by committing 57 unforced errors.
Schneider was playing in the quarterfinals of her first major tournament and is the favorite to advance to the finals, heading into a last-four tie with fellow left-hander Czwalinska, who is ranked 114th in the world.
“I’m really, really happy that I was able to finish in a good way, rather than a good start. This is definitely a special tournament for me,” added the Russian.
“I’m looking forward to (the semifinals) because it’s going to be a left-handed battle.”
Sabalenka’s incredible loss was reminiscent of how she threw away a strong position in last year’s final against Coco Gauff.
The Belarusian had appeared in 14 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals, but was unable to become the first female player since Serena Williams to reach the semifinals of a major in seven consecutive years.
The top seed jumped out to a 5-1 lead and, although she initially failed to serve, she eventually converted on her third set point to take the lead.
The second set started out in a similar pattern, with Sabalenka leading 4-1 with a double break before abandoning her next service game.
Sabalenka gave Schneider three break points to tie the match at 4-4, frustrating her.
After some animated reprimands using the box, she straightened up enough to be held tightly.
But the 28-year-old’s game continued to crumble, with a flurry of unforced errors that forced Schneider to break again to tie the set at 5-5, forcing Sabalenka to make wild gestures at the coaching staff.
Schneider couldn’t believe his luck when Sabalenka hit back-to-back forehands into the net to end the set and send the match to a decider.
The Russian’s confidence grew, and Sabalenka made eight unforced errors in two games, mostly from Chatrier, to extend her lead to 2-0 in the third game.
Schneider cruised to victory from there, duly securing a spot in the semi-finals when Sabalenka hit a routine backhand into the net on the third match point.
The world No. 1, stunned, was able to score only 14 points in the deciding set and had to leave the court in a huff.
