Aryna Sabalenka is just one win away from another Grand Slam final after beating Qinwen Zheng in the French Open quarter-finals.
Sabalenka played on Court Suzanne Lenglen twice in her first four matches, despite being the top seed at the French Open.
But she has now played on Court Philippe-Chatrier three times this year, with the iconic court also playing host to her semi-final.
Sabalenka meets Iga Swiatek for a spot in the final, in what will be the 13th career meeting between the WTA Tour duo.
Swiatek has won eight of their 12 matches thus far, and enters as the winner of each of the last three French Open titles.
What Aryna Sabalenka is like on the WTA Tour as she reaches French Open semi-finals
But former British number one Tim Henman has noticed a difference in Sabalenka that could really help her against her familiar foe.
He said on TNT Sports: “She is in such a great place and I think you see that when you are around the players and you see their teams and coaches and partners.
“Sabalenka really does look like she is having a ball out there. She is confident, she is playing great, she’s fit and healthy. Good luck to her because it hasn’t always been that way.
“I think the way she has overcome the challenges of her game, when the second serve was looking vulnerable and she was serving a lot of double faults and couldn’t get that slam under her belt.
“She has been so effective and efficient on hard courts and now that game is really transferring on to clay.
“She has equalled her best performance and now I think the semi-final she is going to have to come up with one of her best performances if she is going to make that final.”
| 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 |
How has Aryna Sabalenka behaved at the French Open?
Like every other player across the WTA and ATP tours, Sabalenka has certainly had bad moments throughout her career.
But it does seem like she is on top of the world right now, with her success stemming from hard work both on and off the court.
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She has once again been a ray of light at Roland Garros, where fans have seen both her competitive side and her playful nature.
And such an approach is clearly working, with the Belarusian now enjoying her joint-best run at the French Open.
The fierce competitor does, however, have an unenviable task ahead in the form of Swiatek, who holds the advantage in their exciting rivalry.
But Sabalenka has looked slightly more relaxed than the Pole, both at the French Open and throughout the season in general.
And that has likely been helped by her three WTA titles in 2025 and her number one spot in the world rankings, compared to zero for world number five Swiatek.
As Henman mentioned, Sabalenka certainly had her second serve issues once upon a time, but three Grand Slam titles speak for themselves.
She also hasn’t been scared to speak up for women’s tennis, with Sabalenka saying her match with Zheng should have been at night.
Men’s matches have dominated the evening sessions at the French Open thus far, with many fans missing out on plenty of entertaining WTA matches, including those of Sabalenka.
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