Aryna Sabalenka expressed her frustration following a straight-sets defeat to Naomi Osaka at Wimbledon, saying she planned to “get completely drunk” and take a break from tennis after her early exit. The world No. 1 struggled to find her usual form during the match, which Osaka won 6-2, 7-6 on Centre Court, advancing to her first-ever quarter-final at the tournament.
Sabalenka, who has held the top ranking for 89 consecutive weeks, acknowledged that she was not playing at the level expected of a world No. 1. She failed to break Osaka’s serve throughout the contest and visibly showed her frustration, at one point smashing a tennis ball on Centre Court. “If you look at the rankings, right now I am world No. 1. Level-wise, today, I was not world No. 1,” Sabalenka said. “I don’t even want to think about my ranking at this point. I just want to go get completely drunk, forget about tennis and try to get in better shape.”
Despite her disappointment, Sabalenka maintained that she gave her best effort. “I honestly feel like I left everything today,” she said. “For some reason I didn’t have a level at all. I was overpowered, maybe a couple of times I got over-emotional, but I was trying to stay in control. Sometimes there are days like that. You just have to say congrats and leave.”
Osaka’s victory marked a reversal in their head-to-head record this year, having lost three consecutive matches to Sabalenka prior to Wimbledon. The Japanese player secured a tense 7-2 tiebreak in the second set to close out the match and claim her first win on Centre Court. Osaka highlighted the significance of the venue in her post-match comments: “This court is so special. This is the first match I have won on this court, so it means a lot.”
With the elimination of Barbora Krejcikova earlier in the tournament, Wimbledon is guaranteed to crown a new women’s singles champion for the ninth year in a row. Osaka’s progression to the quarter-finals underlined her resurgence on the grass courts, while Sabalenka faces questions about her form as she looks to regain momentum.