Aryna Sabalenka narrowly qualified for the semi-finals of Roland Garros on Tuesday. The Belarusian world number one defeated Chinese Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen: 7-6 (3) and 6-3.
The 27-year-old Sabalenka fell a break behind in the first set against the five-year-younger Zheng. The three-time Grand Slam winner fought her way back into the match and was stronger than the world number seven in the tiebreak.
Sabalenka relinquished a break lead in the second set, but then broke Zheng twice more. The world number one converted her first match point on Court Philippe-Chatrier after two hours.
This is the second time that Sabalenka has reached the semi-finals in Paris. She also reached the semi-finals in 2023. Last year she stranded in the quarter-finals. Sabalenka has previously won the Australian Open (2023 and 2024) and the US Open (2024).
Sabalenka will play against Elina Svitolina or Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals. The Ukrainian and the Polish player will play against each other on Tuesday afternoon. Swiatek won the tournament in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024.