Aryna Sabalenka 'just wants to quit tennis' after shock French Open loss

Aryna Sabalenka said she was done with tennis after a tough loss. (Getty Images: Ibrahim Ezzat/NurPhoto)

Aryna Sabalenka has lamented she wants to "quit tennis right now" after her shock three-set loss to Russian Diana Shnaider in the French Open quarterfinals, after the world number one let opportunities slip in ​the second set.

The Belarusian handled the blustery conditions to win the opening set, forged a commanding 4-1 lead in the second, and was two points away from victory when serving at 5-4, but that was when the contest began to turn, and Shnaider won the last 10 games to prevail 3-6, 7-5, 6-0.

The loss was so devastating that the four-time grand slam champion said she did not want to see a tennis court.

"No thoughts, no emotions, [I] just want to quit tennis right now," Sabalenka told reporters.

"But we'll see in a few days, hopefully I'll get back on track mentally.

"I screwed ‌up, and then she stepped in, and she played great. I feel like mentally I couldn't really recover after ⁠[the] second set. That really was the biggest mistake," she added.

"I don't know the last time I ‌lost 10 games in a row … I guess ​mentally I got into [a] very deep, ‌dark hole over there, and I just couldn't get back mentally on track."

Diana Shnaider said she made note of how Sabalenka struggled in the wind in last year's final. (Getty Images: Ibrahim Ezzat/NurPhoto)

Sabalenka was puzzled by the decision to keep the roof of Court Philippe-Chatrier open as the wind caused issues for both players, sweeping red dirt into their faces at times, and affecting their ability to control their shots throughout.

"I don't know why would ​they ‌keep the roof open when it was crazy windy," last year's runner-up Sabalenka added.

"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.

"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."

"I was warming up with a closed roof. I didn't know they were ‌going to ​open it up. They ⁠were starting to open it right when I was finishing my warm-up," Shnaider said.

"I was a little bit surprised with that decision. But again, the conditions were very tough; there were a lot of dirty shots, it was very unpredictable, ⁠a lot of wind and a lot of sand.

"I was a little annoyed more in the first set, but I tried ‌to keep reminding