After losing the opening two games the current world No.1 won 13 of the next 19 against one of her predecessors to underline her powerful credentials.
Her victory on Monday night (local time) followed those of a trio of players reaching uncharted ground, including her next opponent, Diana Shnaider.
Russian Shnaider and Poland's Maja Chwalinska are into their first grand slam quarter-finals while another Russian, Anna Kalinskaya, has reached the last eight in Paris for the first time, having previously reached that stage in Melbourne in 2024.
Shnaider overcame a second set wobble to battle past American Madison Keys 6-3 3-6 6-0. Chwalinska won 6-3 6-2 to put out Diane Parry, the last Frenchwoman in the event. In the closest match Kalinskaya beat Anastasia Potapova 6-4 2-6 7-6 (10-7).
None carry the threat of Sabalenka in an event in which no previous Roland Garros champion remains.
"I'm super pleased overall with the performance today," said Sabalenka, who has now reached at least the quarter-finals in her last 14 grand slam appearances.
""She is such a great player, she plays a super aggressive tennis. I'm happy with how I was able to put back the pressure on her."
Sabalenka has never previously played Shnaider, a 22-year-old left-hander, who is growing in confidence in Paris.
The Russian had lost her three previous meetings with Keys but this was their first meeting on clay.
Neither player was able to hold serve for the first four games but Shnaider, seeded 25th, six behind Keys, then did so to establish an advantage she retained.
Keys, the 2025 Australian Open champion, was more aggressive in the second set and levelled the tie but Shnaider raced through the decider.
Parry stunned world No.6 Amanda Anisimova in the third round but was outmanoeuvred by a 24-year-old qualifier who served up a mix of slices, drop shots, and clever variations.
"It's my game, it's pretty natural for me to play drop shots," Chwalinska said on the court.
The Pole broke late in the first set to serve it out at 5-3. In the second, Chwalinska saved the only break point she faced before storming through the final five games to seal a commanding win.
Chwalinska, 114th in the world, is the first qualifier to reach the women's French Open quarter-finals since 2020.
She will next face 22nd-seed Kalinskaya, whose defeat of 28th seed Anastasia Potapova came despite her Russian-born Austrian opponent serving for the match at 5-4 in the third.
Potapova had put out defending champion Gauff in the previous round but was unable to finish the deal this time and Kalinskaya held her nerve in the match tiebreak to prevail after two hours , 49 minutes.
with Reuters
