Sabalenka got mad and lost. A historic opportunity for Chwalińska

Even before the quarterfinals, it seemed that Aryna Sabalenka would be Maja Chwalińska’s next rival in the fight for the French Open final. However, the leader of the world ranking did not take advantage of her chance. The Belarusian lost to Diana Sznajder 3:6, 7:5, 6:0 and said goodbye to the tournament. The 22-year-old Russian turned the tide after losing the first set and completely dominated the favorite in the decisive game. For Sznajder, this is the greatest success in her career so far and her first advancement to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament.

Sabalenka’s frustration got out of control

The course of the match was even more surprising because after winning the first set, Sabalenka seemed to have the situation under control. However, in the second set, mistakes began to appear and with them, there were increasing signs of nervousness. The Belarusian was unable to find a way against her well-disposed opponent, who was playing more and more confidently with each passing minute.

The inability to close the match generated fury that disabled Sabalence’s almost all of its advantages. The first racket in the world lost action after action, game after game, and in the third set she was only a shadow of the player from the beginning of the match.

The culmination of emotions occurred at 6:3, 5:7, 0:5. After one of the unforced errors, Sabalenka was unable to hide her frustration. The cameras caught her screaming loudly and gesticulating after a failed play, unable to come to terms with the course of the match. A moment later, whistles and boos could be heard from the stands from some of the audience, who clearly had a negative reaction to the behavior of the WTA ranking leader.

This was not the only such moment. During the meeting, Sabalenka repeatedly addressed members of her coaching staff in an emotional manner. Her reactions were widely commented on by fans and experts following the quarterfinals on Philippe Chatrier’s court.

Ultimately, the Belarusian did not win a single game in the deciding set. Losing 6:3, 5:7, 0:6 meant not only the end of her dreams of triumphing at this year’s Roland Garros, but also one of the most painful defeats in her recent Grand Slam appearances.

A historic opportunity for Maja Chwalińska

Also for Maja Chwalińska, this will be the premiere performance at this stage of the Grand Slam event. The Polish tennis player is playing the tournament of her life in Paris. She had to fight her way through the qualifications to reach the main ladder, but she had already defeated several highly ranked rivals.

On the way to the semi-finals, she eliminated, among others, Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng, Elise Mertens, Maria Sakkari, Diane Parry and Anna Kalinska. Thanks to her great performance in the French capital, she is already certain of advancing to the top 100 of the WTA rankings for the first time in her career.

What time is the Chwalińska-Sznajder match?

The organizers of Roland Garros in Paris announced that the semi-final between Maja Chwalińska and Diana Sznajder will start on Thursday around 5 p.m. on the center court. The Pole and the Russian have faced each other only once so far. Their duel took place four years ago during the ITF tournament in Istanbul. Then Diana Sznajder turned out to be better.