It is far from the first time the world No. 1 has been derailed by this sort of meltdown. For as talented as she is as a player, Sabalenka’s toughest opponent is often herself. As the third set carried on and she continued dropping service games, Sabalenka was screaming at herself, desperate to turn things around but only managing to dig herself deeper into a hole. 

Shnaider, to her credit, produced a strong level of play and recognized the opportunity in front of her as Sabalenka spiraled. Not every player is capable of playing the quality of tennis required to beat Sabalenka, even when she’s struggling, but Shnaider served well and was able to avoid making mistakes, allowing Sabalenka to be the one to create errors. 

Shnaider will now face Maja Chwalinska in a semifinal no one anticipated, and with Sabalenka out, we are guaranteed a first-time grand slam winner in both the women’s and men’s draw at Roland-Garros. The other women’s semifinal will feature No. 8 Mirra Andreeva against No. 15 Marta Kostyuk, with the winner of that semifinal expected to be the heavy favorite to win their first major title.