Aryna Sabalenka undone by the wind at French Open again as Diana Shnaider seizes her moment

PARIS — It’s happened again. For the second straight year, the world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was unable to handle the Paris wind and suffered more French Open heartbreak.

In the 2025 final, it was Coco Gauff who took advantage; on Wednesday it was Russian No. 25 seed Diana Shnaider who kept her composure as Sabalenka imploded again at Roland Garros, sliding from one game from victory to a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 defeat.

Given how much Sabalenka struggled once more in the windy conditions, it feels like it’s becoming as big an issue for her as extreme heat is for the men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. And at a tournament she has never won and where she was the overwhelming favorite with her three main rivals all eliminated early, this was a crushing disappointment at an event where the scar tissue is piling up. It was her earliest Grand Slam exit since a stomach bug contributed to a last-eight defeat here to Mirra Andreeva two years ago. The wait for a first non-hard court Grand Slam title goes on.

Given the opportunity for a maiden title here and the fact Sabalenka led by a set and a double break, this will have to rank as one of her biggest disappointments. And there have been a few of those at the majors over the last few years.

Shnaider will play Poland’s Maja Chwalińska in the semifinals, in a golden opportunity for both players to take a step into history. The 22-year-old Russian played brilliantly to take advantage of her opponent’s lapses, dominating with her forehand and drawing errors from Sabalenka by continually forcing her to hit one more shot.

It was all eerily reminiscent of last year’s final, when Sabalenka bemoaned the windy conditions after losing to Gauff, having been reeled in from a set up. Against Shnaider, the warning signs were there in the first set, when Sabalenka gave up a 5-1 lead that would have become 5-4 had Shnaider not missed a very makeable forehand when up break point. Sabalenka closed out the set and looked to be on her way when leading 4-1 with a double break in the second set and up 30-0. But at that point it all started to unravel.

Shnaider broke back and then did so twice more to pinch the second set, with Sabalenka missing a volley that would have seen her up two match points serving at 5-4. The mess she made of the volley was symptomatic of how ragged Sabalenka suddenly looked. Shnaider meanwhile was dominating from the back of the court, especially with her forehand down the line.

It was slipping away from Sabalenka, and what looked like a blip became serious at the start of the set when Shnaider broke straight away for 2-0, in a game that saw Sabalenka miss a simple forehand that would have seen her hold for 1-1.

Everything was flowing Shnaider’s way, and as well as the wind and an inspired opponent, Sabalenka had the crowd to deal with after they showed their disapproval when she chucked her racket to the floor.

All of a sudden Shnaider had a 5-0 lead and had won nine of the last 10 games and seven in a row. At one point, Sabalenka gave up on a Shnaider forehand as she struggled to find her characteristic fighting spirit.

Either way, it was a painful watch as Sabalenka suddenly struggled to find the court. And Shnaider could barely miss, inflicting Sabalenka’s first bagel-set loss since the Dubai Tennis Championships in February 2024.