Wednesday at Roland Garros featured surprises: World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka lost in the quarterfinals; Flavio Cobolli’s thrilling comeback ousted Felix Auger-Aliassime; Matteo Berrettini retired; Joao Fonseca’s run ended; Maja Chwalińska reached her first Grand Slam semifinals.
Sabalenka won the first set 6-3 but appeared fatigued and frustrated under the heat. Shnaider took advantage, rallying to win the next two sets, 7-5 and 6-0, and reach her first Grand Slam semifinals.
Auger-Aliassime was heartbroken after his surprise French Open exit on Wednesday. In the postgame interview, the Canadian confessed he felt destroyed after losing to Cobolli.
“In a bigger perspective, I can’t complain with my life. But I’m in a place right now, with my tennis career, that is tough. I’m a little bit destroyed today. It’s tough. I usually handle losses pretty well, I have to say, my whole career, going back to training with optimism and positivity, but now I feel like I’m not the player I want to be, so today is a difficult day,” Auger-Aliassime said.
Berrettini, hopeful of reaching his first semifinals since 2022 and his first at Roland Garros, was left reeling after an injury flared up during his match against fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi, forcing him to retire from the contest.
“I’m the last one who wants to retire. I’m so tired of it. I just don’t want to do it, but sometimes you have to do it. A lot of players have done it in the past, and it’s the worst feeling ever, but it’s the right thing to do, because it’s not the last tournament I’m going to play in my life, and I have to think about my future. I have to think about my recovery,” Berrettini said in the postgame interview.
The Brazilian teenage sensation’s dream run at the French Open ended with a straight-sets loss against Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals. While Fonseca was heartbroken with the surprise loss, the teenager took major positives from his unimaginable run in the French capital.
“Tough match today, but really positive week. Played good tennis this week, coming from a little injury and not having any expectations for this tournament and [I still made] a great run. So, yeah, like I said, tough today, but for sure this is a positive week,” Fonseca said.
Chwalińska made history at a Grand Slam by reaching the semifinals. The world No. 114 is only the sixth qualifier in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam semifinal and the second to do so at Roland Garros, following Nadia Podoroska. The Pole showcased tremendous mental tenacity and grit to beat Anna Kalinskaya in the QF on Wednesday.
Aryna Sabalenka Claimed She Wanted to Quit the Sport After the Surprise French Open Exit
After her Roland Garros exit, Sabalenka addressed the media for a postgame interview, during which the distraught and tired Belarusian momentarily said she just wanted to quit playing tennis.
“No thoughts, no emotions. Just want to quit tennis right now. But we’ll see. We’ll see in a few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally,” Sabalenka said in response to a media question about her feelings on the loss.
“I don’t know when was the last time that I lost 10 games in a row. Mentally I got into a very deep, deep, dark hole over there, and I just couldn’t get back on track,” she added.
Sabalenka also discussed the weather conditions during the quarterfinals, expressing her dissatisfaction with several aspects. She then concluded the media conference, mentioning she needed some time to reflect on her loss and find ways to better handle such challenging situations in the future.
Also read:
Patrick Mouratoglou Uncovers The Hidden Drive Behind The Serena Williams’ Return
“I Use the Same Shower as Rafael Nadal” – Flavio Cobolli Reveals His French Open 2026 Routine
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