Aryna Sabalenka was shocked in the French Open quarter-finals by Diana Shnaider, with the Russian producing a spectacular comeback to stun the world No1 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Sabalenka, who has never won the title at Roland-Garros, was hoping to add the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen to her collection of four Grand Slams, with the clay-court major and Wimbledon the two that elude her.
The draw had opened up for the top seed after defending champion Coco Gauff, four-time winner Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, who won this year’s Australian Open, were all dumped out earlier in the tournament.
That, however, would prove irrelevant, as she was defeated by the 25th seed Shnaider 3-6 7-5 6-0.
Sabalenka, 28, was up by two breaks in the second set and looked to on-course to secure another semi-final spot in Paris, but she saw her serve broken back by her indefatiguable Russian opponent, who roared back once more at 6-4 5-4 down - with Sabalenka serving for the contest - to break the four-time Grand Slam champion three times late onm to snatch the second set and force a decider.
The wind was fully in Shnaider’s sails in the third, and it had her hurtling at a fair rate of knots towards a comfortable bagel.
Three early break-point opportunities for the 22-year-old had the world No1 on the ropes in the third, as she powered herself into a 2-0 lead with some vicious baseline striking.
Frustration began to wash over Sabalenka, whose serve began to go awry in the fourth game, and she found herself a double-break down and staring down the barrel of a premature exit.
Shnaider held her nerve on serve to bank a 5-0 lead, forcing the Belarusian to serve to stay in the tournament, but the momentum was fully with the young star, who secured a place in a major semi-final for the first time in her career.
“I am speechless,” Shnaider said afterwards.
“Super happy. The first time playing in an arena - [I was] super nervous. The first set was trying to adjust to her game, trying to figure out how to play.
"[It is] definitely a super special win. I feel like in the third set I finally found my rhythm and how to play and where to be a bit more. The third set was the one I should be aiming for from the beginning. Super happy to finish on a good note. Super special tournament for me here."
The furthest she had been at a Slam previously was the fourth round at the US Open in 2024, where she was beaten by home favourite Jessica Pegula in straight sets.
Shnaider, who won the silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the women’s doubles, will face Maja Chwalinska in the last four.
The 24-year-old Pole has remarkably reached the semi-finals all the way from qualifying, with the world No114 beating Shnaider’s compatriot Anna Kalinskaya, the 22nd seed, 7-6(3) 6-3 in her last-eight encounter.
Before that, she had stunned Olympic gold medallist Qinwen Zheng in the opening round, romped past 23rd seed Elise Mertens in the second, and produced a stunning comeback to defeat Maria Sakkari in three sets in the third.
