Aryna Sabalenka ‘quits tennis’ after huge on-court meltdown dropping 10 video games in a row

Aryna Sabalenka has confessed she wants to “quit tennis” after a dramatic meltdown at the French Open. The world No. 1 was the last Grand Slam champion left in the competition going into the quarter-finals, and was heavily favoured to secure her maiden Roland-Garros title.

Sabalenka enjoyed a one-set advantage and a double break lead over Diana Shnaider in Wednesday’s last-eight encounter, but threw away 11 of the following 12 games – including 10 in succession – to bow out 3-6 7-5 6-0. The four-time Major champion struggled with blustery conditions in Paris and accumulated 57 unforced errors, yelling towards her team as her frustration grew.

This represents the first time in two years that Sabalenka has failed to progress to at least the semi-final round of a Grand Slam, and she now feels like walking away from the sport completely.

Speaking less than an hour after departing the court, the Belarusian revealed: “No thoughts, no emotions. Just want to quit tennis right now, but we’ll see. We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.

“I feel like I had very decent opportunities in the second set. I screw up, and then she stepped in and she played great. I feel like mentally I couldn’t really recover after second set. That really – yeah, I think that was the biggest mistake from me.” Having held a 5-3 advantage in the second set, Sabalenka surrendered 10 straight games and frankly acknowledged she mentally lost focus. “Yeah, I don’t know when was the last time that happened to me that I lost 10 games in a row,” she went on, reports the Mirror.

“I don’t know. I guess mentally I got into a very deep, deep, dark hole over there, and I just couldn’t get back mentally on track.”

This isn’t the first time Sabalenka has found the conditions at Roland Garros her downfall. She relinquished last year’s final to Coco Gauff in strikingly similar fashion. The top seed also implied that the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier should have been shut, despite making no effort to ask for this during the match itself.

She said: “Yeah, that’s another question. I don’t know why would they keep the roof open when it’s, like, it was crazy windy. But how can I complain if almost for the whole match everything was working okay for me, but then it just slipped away. I feel like it was getting crazy maybe just because mentally I wasn’t really okay.”

“So, for me, felt that it was getting crazy, but I remember even from last year, for our match, they kept the roof open, and the next day it was similar conditions, but for the guys, they closed the roof just to make, I believe, better conditions and better quality of tennis.”

Having led 5-3 in the second set, Sabalenka dropped 10 consecutive games and openly admitted she mentally switched off. “I don’t know why would they keep it open? Even though I was winning, it was very dirty tennis. I don’t know how people could actually just sit there and watch me play. I mean, then at some point she stepped in, and she played unbelievable in those conditions, but I don’t know. It’s a big question.”

Reflecting on her frame of mind during the encounter, Sabalenka added: “I just think it’s combination of everything. You overthink, then you make easy mistakes, then you, I don’t know, you miss opportunities.”

“Then the other player on [the other] side kind of like stepping in and starts playing a bit more aggressively and more free, kind of like fearless. You know, sometimes it’s really tough to hold the pressure and put it back on the opponent.”

She also recognised the remarkable parallels to her loss in last year’s final against Gauff. The world number one said: “Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. I just have to sit back and, I don’t know, openly think about what’s going on in my head in those tough moments, because I’m quite [an] experienced player.”

“I have been through so many things, and I overcome so many things. I just have to figure that little thing that is not working for me sometimes, and hopefully I can overcome it.”

As the final Grand Slam champion to be knocked out at the quarter-final stage, Sabalenka had been heavily favoured to secure the title before her surprising exit. Yet she declined to view matters in that light. “I don’t like easy wins, you know. I guess for me it’s about suffer, overcome, and get it done,” she smiled.

“But also, you know, how can you say like that? Marta [Kostyuk] is in great shape. Mirra is [Andreeva] playing great tennis. I’m going to make a mistake pronouncing the Polish girl. I’m so sorry. Maja [Chwalinska]. I’m so sorry. She’s also playing really great tennis. The match shows I had the least, but I don’t know how you say, chance.”

Sabalenka might be feeling downhearted at the moment, but she will certainly pick herself up ahead of Wimbledon. And she’s got a rather unusual method of doing precisely that – by visiting a rage room.

“What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, I guess. At some point I will figure that little situation, and I only will get back tougher,” she said.

“By the way, you know, I just figure how I can overcome it. You know those rooms where you just go in and you smash everything? Probably I will spend a whole day tomorrow over there destroying stuff! Maybe it will help; maybe not.”

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