PARIS, June 1. / TASS/. Russia’s Diana Shnaider advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open on Monday night in a breakthrough win over Madison Keys of the United States.
In a match that lasted for an hour and 45 minutes, the 25th-seeded Shnaider needed three sets to defeat her US opponent (19th-seeded) 6-3; 3-6; 6-0.
For Shnaider, who is playing under a neutral status at this tournament, this marks her first quarterfinals berth at a Grand Slam ever.
"Definitely super happy and proud of myself," the tournament’s official website quoted Shnaider as saying after the match. "Again, lost a few times before to Maddie [Madison Keys], but again, went on court today thinking about, just I need to grind today."
Shnaider was previously winless against Keys in three matches - in a 2024 WTA event in Miami, Florida, on grass in Great Britain in 2025 and on hard courts again in Australia’s Brisbane earlier this year.
"Definitely clay, a little different conditions than hard courts," she continued. "So, just tried to be more consistent today with trying to use more spin, more high balls, and then just putting more balls and trying to decrease my unforced errors, but then at the same time, have an opportunity to be more aggressive."
"I feel like definitely was more about mental state here," Shnaider said. "You know, just trusting more of myself, my game. Not being too negative on myself. I feel like before if I would lose a second set, I would be doubting myself a lot in the third."
"So definitely thinking, like, more staying in the moment and thinking about solution, what I have to do, and not going too much into thoughts of doubting myself and being too negative like I have done something wrong when my opponent is playing better. Definitely I feel like here just being focused and composed through my emotions helped a lot," the Russian tennis player said.
Next up for the Russian will be a date with the winner of the match between World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus (who also plays under a neutral status) and Japan’s Naomi Osaka (16th-seed).
Commenting on her upcoming quarterfinal Shnaider said: "It's going to be a great match." "Doesn't matter who is going to win. World No. 1, former World No. 1, Grand Slam champions. So definitely a huge match coming up."
"My first quarterfinal, so it doesn't matter who is going to win," she continued. "We will see, obviously, with the coach. I mean, kind of similar game style, aggressive game style going for the shots. I will just try to do my job, try to play again like same as I was today, not doing too much of my own mistakes."
"But, at the same time, being aggressive, but not going for too, too much. Again, will try to enjoy and see it as an opportunity to get that experience for my future," the Russian tennis player added.
Shnaider, 22, is currently ranked 23rd in the WTA Rankings. She holds five WTA titles. Her best result in Grand Slams was reaching Round 4 of the 2024 US Open. At the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, she captured a silver medal in women’s doubles with partner Mirra Andreeva.
US tennis player Keys is a tour veteran at 31, and is currently the 19th-ranked player in the world. She’s a 10-time WTA champion, one of those being an Australian Open title (2025).
One of tennis’ four Grand Slam events, the 2026 French Open takes place in Paris, nicknamed the "City of Light," between May 24 and June 7. The tournament is played on outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff from the United States are the tournament’s reigning champions on the men's and women's sides respectively.
Russian and Belarusian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations moved to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022, to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.
On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from participating in the 2022 Davis Cup and the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.