Aryna Sabalenka was booed by the Wimbledon crowd after whacking a ball out of Centre Court following her straight-sets defeat to Naomi Osaka.
World No 1 Sabalenka suffered her earliest grand slam defeat since the 2022 French Open, with Osaka producing a brilliant performance and claiming her first win on Centre Court with a 6-2 7-6 vicotry.
The loss was the first time Sabalenka had exited a grand slam in straight sets since the 2020 US Open, with Osaka also snapping her streak of 21 consecutive tiebreaks won at the grand slams.
Osaka, the former world No 1 and four-time grand slam champion, is through to the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time, ending Sabalenka’s bid in what is becoming a wide-open tournament.
For the 10th year in a row, the women’s draw will crown a new Wimbledon champion – but it will not be Sabalenka as the US Open crashed out in what is another painful grand slam defeat, following her unravelling against Dian Shnaider at the French Open and Australian Open final defeat to Elena Rybakina this season.
Sabalenka, who praised Osaka for her victory and credited the 14th seed for overpowering her on Centre Court, was booed by some fans after launching a ball out of the stadium when Osaka won match point. Sabalenka cleared the Centre Court roof as she unleashed her frustration, before shaking hands with Osaka.
Sabalenka said she had to restrain herself from smashing her racket against the grass on Centre Court. “I cannot be satisfied with anything today. But I have to say that there was couple times where I could just completely lose it,” she said following defeat. “But I was respectful to the grass and to the next players who is going to play there, so I hold myself really good.”
Sabalenka did not create a single break point against Osaka’s serve while coming under constant pressure from the 28-year-old, who is through to a grand slam quarter-final on a surface other than hard court for the first time in her career.
“I feel like my level was really low today, plus she was feeling her best,” Sabalenka said. “With every game we would play, I would feel worse, she would feel better. She would just go for her shots freely. I wouldn’t.
“Maybe next time I should change something in the preparation or my approach should be a little bit different to this match. I just feel like honestly I did everything I could with what I had today and she got a win. Well done. Wish her, once again, the best of luck.”
On how she would recover from the defeat, Sabalanka said: “I don’t even want to think about ranking at this point. I just want to go get completely drunk, forget about tennis, and try to get in better shape.”
