On 3 June 2026, the French Open quarter-finals shaped an exceptionally open edition. World number one Aryna Sabalenka, leading 6-3, 4-1, collapsed against Diana Shnaider (ranked 23rd), losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 on Philippe-Chatrier court in windy conditions, with 57 unforced errors. For the first time since 1977, no Grand Slam champion features in the semi-finals of a single tournament, men's and women's combined, after the early exits of Gauff, Swiatek, Alcaraz, Sinner and Djokovic.
The women's draw will therefore crown a first-time champion: Shnaider, Poland's Maja Chwalinska, a qualifier returning after a long break for depression, Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk and Russia's Mirra Andreeva have never won a major. In the men's draw, the Cobolli–Arnaldi semi-final will be the first all-Italian meeting at this stage of a Grand Slam in the Open era. Berrettini, hampered by injury, retired against Arnaldi.
Beyond sport, the tournament is read through the lens of the war between Ukraine and Russia. Kostyuk dedicated her win to Ukraine, struck the previous day by missile and drone fire. Shnaider, like Sabalenka, competes under neutral status, imposed since 2022.
Actors diverge on how to frame these results. Some amplify the Russian performance while omitting that neutral status; others foreground the political dimension and the Ukrainian dedication; still others treat the event in strictly sporting terms, celebrating the Italian feat or the run of young Brazilian João Fonseca. What remains disputed is how much weight to give the geopolitical context in a tournament that concludes on 7 June.
