Aryna Sabalenka extends stunning Grand Slam record with French Open quarter-final victory
Aryna Sabalenka saw off a dogged challenge from Zheng Qinwen to continue her fine Grand Slam form at the French Open.
World No 1 Sabalenka rallied from a break down in a tense opening set before claiming a 7-6(3), 6-3 triumph over Qinwen, the eighth seed at Roland Garros.
Victory for the top seed saw her extend her head-to-head lead over Qinwen to 7-1, having tasted defeat to the Chinese for the first time at the Italian Open last month.
It was a largely clean display from the world No 1, who hit fewer winners than her opponent (20 to 22), but hit just 18 unforced errors – compared to 31 for her opponent.
“That was a true battle,” said Sabalenka in her on-court interview. “I have no idea how I was able to get back into that first set.
“I was ready to leave everything I have on court to win.”
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It is the second time that Sabalenka has reached the semi-final at the French Open, following her run to the last four in 2023.
The Belarusian has now reached an impressive 11 Grand Slam singles semi-finals, and has progressed to at least the semi-final of nine of the last ten majors she has played.
The only time Sabalenka has failed to reach a semi-final in that run was at Roland Garros in 2024, where she was affected by illness in her quarter-final exit to Mirra Andreeva.
She was also forced to withdraw from Wimbledon last summer due to a shoulder injury, though, outside of those two events, she has reached every other major semi-final since the 2022 US Open.
Her haul of 11 Grand Slam singles semi-finals is by far the most of any player this decade, with Iga Swiatek (eight) the only other WTA player to reach more than five semi-finals since the start of 2020.
Sabalenka has a 5-5 record in her 10 previous major semi-finals, though she has tasted victory in her four most recent major semi-finals.
The last time the three-time Grand Slam singles champion tasted defeat in the last four of a Grand Slam was at Wimbledon in 2023, when she was beaten by Ons Jabeur in three sets.
Since then, she has gone on to win back-to-back semi-finals at the US Open in 2023 and 2024, and the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025.
Sabalenka will now look to reach a third straight Grand Slam final, having lifted the title at the US Open last summer and finishing as the runner-up at the 2025 Australian Open.
However, she faces a tough test against fifth seed and three-time defending champion Swiatek – who hasn’t lost a French Open match since 2021.
