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Aryna Sabalenka says she fell into 'deep, dark hole' mentally in shock defeat to Diana Shnaider

Blazorscore 04 June 2026, 01:01 1 views 2 min read
Aryna Sabalenka during her press conference

<p>The Belarusian handled the blustery conditions to ‌win the opening set, forged a commanding lead in the second and was two points away from victory ‌when the contest began to turn, and Shnaider won the last 10 games ‌to prevail 3-6, 7-5, 6-0.</p><p>Sabalenka said she had no thoughts, felt no emotions and wanted to "quit ‌tennis right now" in the aftermath of the defeat as the four-times Grand ‌Slam champion hoped to get back on track mentally in the next few weeks.</p><p>"I feel like I had very decent opportunities in the second set," Sabalenka told reporters.</p><p>"<strong>I screwed up, and then she ‌stepped in and she played great. I feel like mentally ⁠I couldn't really recover after second set. ‌That really was the biggest mistake</strong>.</p><p>"<strong>I don't know the last time I lost 10 games in ​a row ... I guess mentally I got into very deep, dark hole over there, and I just couldn't get back mentally on track</strong>."</p><p>Sabalenka was puzzled ​by the decision to keep the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier open as the wind caused issues for both players, sweeping the red dirt into their face at ⁠times, and affecting their ability to ​control their shots throughout.</p><p>"I don't know why would they keep the roof open when it was crazy windy," last year's runner-up Sabalenka added.</p><p>"<strong>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</strong>.</p><p>"<strong>Even though I was winning, it was dirty tennis. I don't know how people could actually just sit there and watch me play. Then at some point she stepped in, and she played unbelievable in those conditions</strong>."</p><p>All of Sabalenka's Grand Slam wins have come on hardcourts, and she said she needed to crack the code on clay and grass.</p><p>"<strong>I really feel great on clay. I feel great on grass. I don't know, maybe I'm focusing too much that I've never won a slam on each surface, ‌and maybe it's making me overthink stuff, making me over-emotional in some moments</strong>.</p><p>"<strong>This is ​something that I have to step back and try to find a solution ‌for, because I'm just so tired losing matches not in the best way, just because I was over-emotional</strong>."</p><p>Sabalenka said she would look for a way through the setback, insisting that the experience would only make her stronger.</p><p>"I figured how I can overcome it," she added with a smile.</p><p>"<strong>You know those rooms where you ⁠just go in and you smash everything? ⁠I'll probably spend the whole day ‌there tomorrow destroying stuff. Maybe it'll help, maybe not</strong>."</p>