Latest / Bleacher Report / "Just want to quit tennis right now" Aryna Sabalenka After Quarterfinal Loss | Roland-Garros 2026

Transcript

"Just want to quit tennis right now" Aryna Sabalenka After Quarterfinal Loss | Roland-Garros 2026 · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Arena. This is obviously a difficult moment.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: But what are your thoughts and emotions after today's match?
• 0:07
  Speaker 3: No thoughts, no emotions, just want to quit tennis right now.
• 0:12
  Speaker 3: But we'll see, We'll see in a few days, hopefully
• 0:15
  Speaker 3: I'll get back on track mentally.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Hareen it just from your perspective, just what happened in
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: the final ten games in the third set particular.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: I feel like I had.
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: Very decent opportunities in the second set, I screw up
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: and then she stepped in and she played great, and
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: I feel like mentally I couldn't really recover after a
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: second set, and that really.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that was the biggest mistake from me.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: My question was gonna be similar to just what was
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: as the match was slipping away from me? What were
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: you trying to do to change the direction of it
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: or to slow it down? And what just wasn't working
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: for you to be able to, you know, find the breaks?
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: Is it's a very uncharacteristic kind of match for you.
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't know what was the last time that
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: happened to me that I lost ten games in the row, But.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: I guess mentally I got into a very deep, deep
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: dark hole over there, and I just couldn't get back.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: Mentally on track. I mean, I just wanted how big
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: a fact the conditions were as well? It was a
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: windy afternoon. Yeah, that's another question. I don't know.
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: Why would they keep the roof open when it's like
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: it's it was crazy windy. But how can I complain
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: if almost for the whole match, everything was working okay
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: for me, but then it just slipped away, and it
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: was also I feel like it was getting crazy, maybe
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: just because mentally I wasn't really okay, so for me
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: it felt that we was getting crazy. You better remember
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: even from last year, for our match, they kept the
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: roof open, and the next day it was similar conditions,
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: but for the guys they closed the roof just to
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: make I believe better conditions and better quality of tennis.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: I don't know why would they keep it open.
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: It was really even though I was winning, it was
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: very dirty tennis, and I don't know how people could
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: actually sit there and watch me play. I mean, then
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: at some point she stepped in and she played unbelievable
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: in those conditions.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: But I don't know. It's a big question.
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: Did you ask for the roof to be closed.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: No, I didn't. I feel like, you know, no need.
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: Area. What challenges the clay, and I guess also the
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: grass present to you that that has you think prevented
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: you from matching your success on hard.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: Court many things. No, I don't know.
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: I really feel great on clay. I feel great on grass.
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: I think just I don't know. Maybe I'm focusing to
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: much that I never want to slam on each you know,
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: and maybe it's like kind of like make me overthink stuff,
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: make me over emotional.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: At some moment.
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: I don't know, this is something that I actually have to,
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: you know, kind of like step back and kind of
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: like try to find a solution because I just I am
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: so tired of me losing so much is not in
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: the best way, just because I was over emotional.
• 3:43
  Speaker 5: When you're in that situation, you said it's very difficult mentally.
• 3:47
  Speaker 5: Do you find that you end up almost fighting against
• 3:49
  Speaker 5: yourself and you can't find a way back? And how
• 3:52
  Speaker 5: does it happen? Is it is it a sense that
• 3:55
  Speaker 5: it's just too overwhelming and it's something you can't turn around.
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: No, I just think it's gonna be nation of everything.
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: You know, you overthink then you make easy mistakes. Then
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: you you know, I don't know, you miss opportunities. Then
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: the other player on another side kind of like stepping
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: in and start playing a bit more aggressively and more free,
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: kind of like fearless, and you know, it's sometimes it's
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: really tough to hold the pressure and put it back
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: on the open end.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: Hi Arena.
• 4:26
  Speaker 6: From the outside, it looked like that match had some
• 4:29
  Speaker 6: similar similarities to last year's final. I just wandered from
• 4:33
  Speaker 6: in terms of your experience what these similarities were.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that's what I'm saying.
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: I just have to sit back and I don't know,
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: openly think about what's going on in my head in
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: those toff moments.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: Because I'm quite experienced player.
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: I've been through so many things and I overcome so
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: many things, and you know, I just have to figure
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: that little little thing that it's not working for me
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: sometimes and hopefully I can overcome it.
• 5:06
  Speaker 7: High Arena with how are you feeling going into the
• 5:09
  Speaker 7: match this morning? Were you in your best spirits mentally
• 5:13
  Speaker 7: and did it sort of is there is there a
• 5:15
  Speaker 7: moment before five to three that you start beginning to
• 5:19
  Speaker 7: feel things?
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: No, No, I felt really great. I felt ready to fight.
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: I've already you know, I was, Yeah, I was super
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: muchivated as always, So I wouldn't say that I've done
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: something different, you know, in the morning.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: I just think that there is something in specific.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: Moment during the march that happens that, like I lose
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: control over there.
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: Match, Arena.
• 5:41
  Speaker 5: How much more difficult is this to take when it
• 5:43
  Speaker 5: was such a big opportunity for you, given the openness
• 5:47
  Speaker 5: of the drawer and where you were.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: I don't like easy wins, you know.
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: I guess for me, it's about, you know, suffer, overcome
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: and get it done. But also, you know, how can
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: you say like that, like Marty is in a great shape,
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: Mirror is playing great tennis. I'm gonna make a mistake
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: pronouncing the Polish girl.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: She's also playing really great tennis suits. I mean, maybe
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: I has the list, like my shows, I had the list.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: I don't know how you say, chance, Arena.
• 6:30
  Speaker 5: I think everyone will really appreciate your honest, raw reaction
• 6:33
  Speaker 5: to this defeat. How do you bounce back from disappointments
• 6:37
  Speaker 5: like this?
• 6:38
  Speaker 6: What's your plan going to be over the next few days.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: I honestly don't know. I guess I don't know. I
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: don't know.
• 7:04
  Speaker 8: Bad bad luck are ina. Obviously, if you've had kind
• 7:07
  Speaker 8: of difficult moments to this in the past, where you've
• 7:11
  Speaker 8: had to bounce back, how does it make it even
• 7:15
  Speaker 8: tougher knowing that you've kind of put so much into
• 7:17
  Speaker 8: trying to find a way through this, but you still
• 7:19
  Speaker 8: have these mental blocks.
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: Sometimes it doesn't kill us, makes us stronger. I guess
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: at some point I will figure that little situation and
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: I only will get back tougher by the way. You know,
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: I just figured how I can overcome. And you know
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: those rooms where you just go in and you smash everything.
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: Probably I'll spend a whole little more over there, destroying stuff.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: Maybe it will help, maybe not. Thank you guys,