Sabalenka lost her most recent match against Zheng last month in Rome, having previously dominated their first six encounters. She said that loss was actually a good thing in the middle of an already exhausting season.

“I was actually glad I lost that match, because I needed a little break before Roland-Garros,” Sabalenka said. “Today, I was just more fresh. I was ready to battle, I was ready to leave everything I had on court to get this win.”

Sabalenka, a three-time major champion, has yet to drop a set in Paris.

Zheng started strong on Court Philippe-Chatrier, breaking early and dominating with aggressive play.

However, two double faults in the eighth game allowed Sabalenka to break back and shift the momentum.

A misjudged call by Zheng in the 12th game nearly cost her, but she fought off a set point to force a tiebreaker. Sabalenka remained more consistent and secured the set after Zheng hit long on a drop shot.

Zheng saved a break point with an overhead shot in the fifth game of the second set, but Sabalenka’s powerful backhand return pinned her down on the next one, allowing the top-ranked player to move ahead 3–2. Zheng did not go down without a fight, though, and broke back immediately, only to drop her two last service games.

The loss ended a run of 10 consecutive match wins for Zheng at Roland-Garros, dating to last summer’s Olympic Games.