In Berlin, Aryna Sabalenka addressed the shock of losing at Roland Garros after a spell of dominance at No. 1, admitting it has been “tough to process.” She also described speaking with a psychologist and her willingness to make changes despite being WTA’s top
BERLIN, Germany — The question landed the moment Aryna Sabalenka sat down for her pre-tournament media availability in Berlin. It was her first time speaking publicly since leaving Paris. And it wasn’t about the next match on her schedule.
It was about the kind of loss that sticks in the body.
Sabalenka is in her 95th week at the WTA No. 1 ranking, including 87 weeks in a row. During this run. she has lifted only one of the six majors held while she’s been ranked at the top. Her ability to keep matches under control long enough to reach deep rounds at Grand Slams is something fans know well. What they didn’t expect was what happened at Roland Garros. where she suffered a quarterfinal defeat that still sounds strange even when it’s described plainly.
She lost 10 games in a row to Diana Shnaider and crashed out of a match she had appeared to be controlling.
When Sabalenka was asked about the defeat on Monday in Berlin, she didn’t dodge the emotional weight of it. She called it “tough to process.”
Then, rather than moving on quickly, she spoke about what she’s been doing since Paris. In recent weeks, she has been speaking with a psychologist, trying to understand why collapses like that can happen to her.
“I’m just trying to dig deep in my brain—which is probably not a good idea.”
The way she framed it wasn’t dramatic. It was practical. But it carried the unmistakable message of someone who understands that even at the very top, confidence doesn’t prevent sudden breakdowns—and that the work after a setback has to be more than just analysis on a court.
As she talked through her willingness to be vulnerable and to make changes despite being No. 1, Sabalenka kept circling back to the same idea: staying dominant isn’t only about winning more often. It’s also about dealing with the moments when the pattern breaks.
Before the Berlin tournament fully takes shape around her, she also addressed grass—one of the few parts of the WTA calendar that still hasn’t turned into a trophy moment for her. She has played well on grass throughout her career, but she has not yet won any title on the surface.
There’s a tension running through everything Sabalenka said in Berlin: a player who has held the No. 1 position for nearly two years in weeks. who has shown iron-level control for stretches. and who still has to confront the question that Roland Garros brought to the front of her season—how quickly control can disappear.
What comes next, in Berlin, isn’t just a return to play after Paris. It’s a return with a clearer view of what she’s trying to fix, and the kind of honesty that tends to matter most when the wind suddenly changes.
Aryna Sabalenka Berlin WTA Roland Garros Diana Shnaider No. 1 ranking psychologist grass court