Sabalenka was devastated after the defeat, so much so that she had 'no thoughts, no emotions' and wanted to 'quit tennis'. Venus Williams, who herself has experienced many heartbreaking defeats, empathized with her.

I was feeling sad, actually. I was kinda like, I got taken on her emotions. A lot of empathy for her. And she leaves it all on the court. You see everything she feels on the court. Perhaps maybe take a little more time if you need to before the press conference, because I don't think she wants to quit tennis. That would be a tragedy for tennis and a tragedy for her.

The exits of players like Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina made Sabalenka the heavy favorite to win the clay-court Major for the first time in her career. She, in fact, was the only quarterfinalist who has won a Major singles title.

But when you lose, it's just so, like, ugh. The inner struggle is real. I like that she lets us in, lets us be a part of her world in that way. What happened today happens to every player at some point in time. And it hurts. The worst part is that you let your own self down. And to deal with letting yourself down is the hardest thing in the world.

Sabalenka finished as the runner-up in last year's French Open, losing in three sets to Gauff. She also suffered upset in this year's Australian Open final at the hands of Rybakina.

Often in Grand Slam finals, emotions got the better of Aryna Sabalenka, due to which her level also dropped. Sabalenka, in fact, blamed emotions for her defeat in last year's Australian Open and French Open finals.

And she worked on herself and did not make the same mistakes in the US Open final, winning it by beating home favorite Amanda Anisimova. Diana Shnaider was well aware of this weakness of the four-time Grand Slam singles champion.

I saw some moments of frustration from her, of course. I know Aryna, and I know she is a very emotional person. I am too. I believe one of the things I'm doing best in this tournament is not allowing negative emotions to interfere with my tennis. There were many moments where I could have been very angry with myself or with everything that was happening.

Apart from the Melbourne Major, the World No.1 played three more finals, winning in Brisbane, Indian Wells, and Miami, by defeating Marta Kostyuk, Elena Rybakina, and Coco Gauff, respectively. Sabalenka exited before reaching the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since the 2024 French Open.

While last year she played three finals on clay, this year she lost before reaching the semifinals in the three events she played on the surface. The 28-year-old, after her defeat to Jelena Ostapenko in Stuttgart, beat Gauff in the Madrid final, with the American ace later taking her revenge on her in the Paris final.

Sabalenka, after some rest, will be preparing for the grass swing, which will start after the conclusion of Roland Garros. The winner of 24 singles titles has never tasted success in a grass-court event. Last year at Wimbledon, her run ended in the semifinal.

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