Aryna Sabalenka on shock French Open quarter-final exit to Diana Shnaider: 'I want to quit tennis right now'

Sabalenka led Shnaider - the No. 25 seed in Paris - by a set and a double break, before a spirited fightback and Sabalenka's implosion caused yet another big upset at this year's Roland-Garros.

Shnaider won 10 consecutive games to overturn her second-set deficit and win the decider by a bagel, sealing a 3-6 7-5 6-0 victory.

Speaking in her post-match press conference, Sabalenka was candid about her feelings after the damaging defeat.

"No thoughts, no emotions," Sabalenka said. "I just want to quit tennis right now. But hopefully, I'll get back on track.

"I had very good opportunities in the second set. I screwed up and she played great. Mentally, I couldn't really recover after the second set.

"I don't know when was the last time it happened to me, losing 10 games in a row. Mentally, I got in a deep dark hole and I couldn't get back mentally on track."

Sabalenka appeared a frustrated figure even when leading the match, with windy conditions playing havoc with the flight of the ball, and her discontent only grew as Shnaider stubbornly fought back when victory for the top seed appeared a foregone conclusion.

The manner in which the quarter-final got away from Sabalenka was reminiscent of her defeat to Coco Gauff in the French Open final last year.

And the Belarusian said she will now take an honest look at why a mental block has cost her some significant results.

Asked if there is a reason why her impressive hard-court results - four major titles - has not been replicated on the clay and grass, having yet to win the French Open or Wimbledon, she said: "Many things. I don't know. I felt great on clay and grass.

"Maybe not winning a Slam has made me overthink stuff, or made me overly emotional. I think this is something I have to stand back and try to find the solution. I'm so tired of losing so much not in the best way because I'm emotional.

"I have to sit back and openly think about what's going on in my head in these tough moments.

"I'm quite an experienced player, I have been through so many things, overcome so many things, and find what's not working for me sometimes and overcome it."

She questioned why the roof remained open despite the tricky conditions resulting in "very dirty tennis", but did not use that as an excuse for surrendering her lead.

"I don't know why they would keep the roof open when it's crazy windy," Sabalenka said.

"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, I felt that it was getting crazy, but I remember even from last year [the final against Gauff], 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.

"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."

Sabalenka's exit means her attentions will turn towards the grass-court season and Wimbledon, while Shnaider moves onto a semi-final against Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska.

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