Diana Shnaider produced one of the most astonishing comebacks in recent Roland Garros history, knocking out world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka 3-6 7-5 6-0 in the French Open quarter-finals after trailing by a set and two breaks.

Sabalenka, widely viewed as the overwhelming favourite for the title after the exits of Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, appeared to be cruising towards a first Paris semi-final. She led 6-3 4-1 on Court Philippe-Chatrier, dictating with her trademark baseline power and bullying Shnaider off the court.

Even when Shnaider briefly rallied, breaking Sabalenka as she first served for the opening set, the top seed steadied herself to close it out. Early in the second, Sabalenka tightened her grip, breaking twice for a 4-1 lead and seemingly extinguishing any hope of an upset.

What followed was a remarkable shift in momentum. Shnaider, 22 and unseeded, began to absorb Sabalenka’s pace, extending rallies and forcing the Belarusian into increasingly wild errors. She clawed one break back, held serve, then created three more break points to level. Sabalenka saved all three, plus a fourth, to edge ahead 5-3, but the tension in her game was unmistakable.

Serving for the match at 5-4, Sabalenka’s forehand misfired and her first serve deserted her. Shnaider pounced, breaking again for 5-5, then holding with authority before reeling off a series of punishing returns to steal the set 7-5 from 4-1 and 5-3 down.

The decider turned into a rout. Shnaider, brimming with confidence, pressed on the Sabalenka serve from the opening game, finally converting a fourth break point for 2-0. Sabalenka’s frustration boiled over as her unforced error count soared, while Shnaider raced through games with fearless hitting and relentless defence.

Another break made it 4-0, and although Sabalenka tried to summon a response, Shnaider refused to yield, holding for 5-0 and then completing a stunning bagel set with a final break of serve. The world No 1, who has still never lifted the French Open trophy, left the court visibly shell-shocked.

Shnaider’s victory sends her into a maiden Grand Slam semi-final, where she will face Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska, herself on a fairytale run from the qualifying rounds to the last four.