Sabalenka extends mastery over Osaka to claim French Open quarterfinal seat

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Aryna Sabalenka continued to have Naomi Osaka’s number.

For the third time in their head-to-head series, the Belarusian ace got the better of the four-time Grand Slam champion, booting her out of the ongoing French Open, 7-5, 6-3, on June 2, 2026, at Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris, France.

Fresh off a dominant straight-sets win over Daria Kasatkina, Sabalenka picked up where she left off, outplaying Osaka in back-to-back sets to formalize her entry into the Grand Slam event’s quarterfinal stage.

Sabalenka bucked a hot start from Osaka, recovering midway through the first set with a crucial break of serve that snapped the 5-all deadlock.

Despite committing early unforced errors, especially on her first-ball returns, Sabalenka woke up in the most crucial stretch of the first set to pull away and grab the momentum-boosting 1-0 lead.

Both stars stuck to their playing styles of putting immense pressure on the baseline, but it was Sabalenka who landed the deeper groundstrokes with more consistency and precision.

Osaka fought fire with fire after trying to match Sabalenka’s power game, but that risky strategy didn’t pay dividends as the latter clinched 11 of the last 17 baseline rallies in the second set.

All hell broke loose when Sabalenka scored another break point in the fourth game of the second set to establish a two-game lead, forcing Osaka to resort to more options to regain her hitting rhythm.

The experienced Osaka tried the serve-and-volley technique, but her serving percentage dipped as the second set progressed.

Osaka’s hopes of a comeback then evaporated after Sabalenka held serve for a three-game lead, backed by a series of hard-fought down-the-line winners.

Sabalenka capped the impressive fourth-round victory with 75 total points won, including 12 service aces, four break points, and 35 points on the return.

“I’m happy with the way that I served while putting all of the pressure back to her,” Sabalenka said after the win.

“It was a tough one. I am happy with the win. It’s amazing to play in front of you guys. Thank you so much for bringing such an amazing atmosphere. You guys really make this place special.”

With the win, Sabalenka arranged a quarterfinal showdown with Russian netter Diana Shnaider, who earlier took down former Grand Slam champion Madison Keys to advance.