Aryna Sabalenka is safely into the quarter-finals of the French Open, where she will take on Qinwen Zheng.
Sabalenka should be encouraged by Iga Swiatek’s difficulties in her meeting with Elena Rybakina, in which she came from behind to win.
Three-time defending champion Swiatek takes on Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals, with the Pole potentially meeting Sabalenka in the semi-finals.
The Belarusian is the top seed at the French Open, and the WTA number one has yet to drop a set at Roland Garros this year.
Sabalenka is confused about her stance on electronic line calling, which is absent from the tournament, with the three-time Grand Slam winner now sharing her confusion over another issue in Paris.
How Aryna Sabalenka truly feels about her French Open match scheduling
Told in her latest press conference that it is the first time since 2019 that a number one player has played two matches on Court Suzanne Lenglen, she was then asked if that matters.
“Of course, I would prefer to play on the biggest courts,” replied Sabalenka. “But at the same time maybe not everyone can get tickets on the centre court and then it’s good to play on another stadium which is also big and beautiful, in front of the people who were able to get tickets on that court.
“At the end of the day, if you ask me what I prefer, I would prefer to play on Philippe-Chatrier but why the decision was to put me on that court for the second time, I don’t know.
“I don’t want to complain to be honest, I got my win, I am happy hopefully from now I am going to be playing only on Chatrier. I think I should be, right? So it’s okay.”
Aryna Sabalenka shares her thoughts on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the French Open
Sabalenka has now played four matches at the French Open this year, two of which were played on Philippe-Chatrier and two of which came on Suzanne Lenglen.
But the lack of action on the centre court has seemingly had little impact on her motivation, with the Belarusian in formidable form at the Grand Slam.
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 2023 | Australian Open | Hard | Elena Rybakina | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2023 | US Open | Hard | Coco Gauff | 6–2, 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 2024 | Australian Open | Hard | Zheng Qinwen | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 2024 | US Open | Hard | Jessica Pegula | 7–5, 7–5 |
| Loss | 2025 | Australian Open | Hard | Madison Keys | 3–6, 6–2, 5–7 |
| Loss | 2025 | French Open | Clay | Coco Gauff | 7–6(7–5), 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2025 | US Open | Hard | Amanda Anisimova | 6–3, 7–6(7–3) |
| Loss | 2026 | Australian Open | Hard | Elena Rybakina | 4–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
She does, however, now face a familiar foe in Zheng, who she beat to lift the trophy at the 2024 Australian Open.
The pair have met seven times throughout their WTA careers so far, with Sabalenka winning all but one match.
Intriguingly, however, Zheng’s solo victory arrived at the Italian Open last month, which should give her confidence for their upcoming clash.
Further discussing the court scheduling, Sabalenka added: “I think because when you play on the biggest courts, they show those matches on the TV so it’s more people watching and you can show yourself to more people.
“Also the court is so beautiful and it’s much bigger. It feels like the moment you step on the Chatrier, you feel like okay this is the big stage and there is where I am meant to be and this is where I want to compete and fight and bring my best tennis. I think it’s all about the energy of the stadium.”
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