‘You’re Just Humiliated’ – Aryna Sabalenka’s Coach Defends Her ‘Quit Tennis’ Remark After Paris Blow

Aryna Sabalenka was visibly heartbroken after her quarterfinal loss at the 2026 French Open, making the emotional admission that she wanted to quit tennis. Sabalenka’s performance coach, Jason Stacy, has shared insight into the world No. 1’s mindset at the time, explaining what prompted the comment while conceding that she should have allowed herself more time to settle down before speaking to the press.

Jason Stacy Makes Sense of Aryna Sabalenka’s Emotional Admission

With the likes of Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina all suffering early exits, the path appeared clear for Sabalenka to clinch her maiden French Open title. However, the Belarusian’s bid for redemption after her crushing loss in last year’s final was thwarted by Diana Shnaider.

After the Russian pulled off a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 upset in their quarterfinal showdown, Sabalenka said she felt like abandoning tennis altogether, though she hoped to mentally bounce back from the devastation.

“No thoughts, no emotions. Just want to quit tennis right now, but we’ll see. We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally,” she said in her post-match press conference.

As Sabalenka has turned her attention to the grass-court season, Jason Stacy shed light on the highly publicized moment in an interview with Sports Illustrated. He revealed that neither he nor anyone else on Sabalenka’s team had spoken to her before she addressed the media, adding that she may have benefited from taking more time to compose herself beforehand.

“I mean, we hadn’t spoken. None of us in the team had spoken to her before that moment. She probably should have taken a little bit more time just to kind of settle down a little bit before she went out there,” Stacy said.

Nevertheless, Stacy emphasized that the four-time Grand Slam champion is never one to hide behind rehearsed platitudes and will voice her raw emotions. He also defended the remark, saying it was a natural response to the humiliation and frustration Sabalenka experienced after the loss.

“But the fact is, you know, it’s Aryna. You’re always going to know where she stands. She’s not going to go out there and give you some media-rehearsed tagline. She told you how she was feeling, and like anybody else, if you just had like just a really, really terrible moment in front of so many people and you’re just humiliated, you’re frustrated, you’re angry, you’re embarrassed. And then right after, when someone’s like, ‘hey, tell me what you’re feeling,’ you know? She’s authentic,” he added.

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Aryna Sabalenka appears to have moved on from the disappointment of her French Open loss, turning her focus to her preparations for Wimbledon. The world No. 1 has booked her spot in the semifinals of the Berlin Tennis Open after claiming a hard-fought 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 comeback win over Nikola Bartůňková.

Sabalenka will battle it out against Jessica Pegula for a spot in the final of the WTA 500 event, with the winner meeting either Alexandra Eala or Linda Nosková in the title clash.