World’s No.1, Top seed Aryna Sabalenka was defeated by Naomi Osaka in a shocking Wimbledon game on Sunday. The former World No.1 played the finest grass-court match of her career to upset Sabalenka in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2), reaching the quarterfinals.
This result is considered surprising because Sabalenka as the top seed was expected to advance further in the tournament. “I think it was a really fun match. I’m really grateful for this. Even if I lost, I would still think it was a great match,” Osaka said after her first victory on Centre Court.
Sabalenka was left screaming in frustration during a 32-minute opening set as her power game misfired. After netting a backhand on the match point, world number one Sabalenka took her anger out on a ball, blasting it high out of the Centre Court.
Finding her rhythm back, Sabalenka tried hard in the second set, pushing the match to a tiebreak. However, Osaka remained entirely unfazed. Revitalized by coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, Osaka reached the semifinals of the US Open last year and has carried that momentum into 2026.
With eight Grand Slam titles between them, the blockbuster duel topped the Day Seven bill but ended up lacking the expected fireworks as 14th seed Osaka dominated. She dominated the tiebreak 7-2 with aggressive, deep hitting, forcing a string of unforced errors from the frustrated top seed.
The victory marks a massive breakthrough for the Japanese star on a surface that has historically trouble her during her impressive streak of 14 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances. She is yet to drop a set across her opening four matches at Wimbledon.
Since Osaka beat Sabalenka on her way to the 2018 U.S. Open title, they had gone almost eight years without facing each other. They are finally back in the same orbit though and met at this year’s French Open where Sabalenka prevailed.
Osaka will face 10th seed Karolina Muchova whose win over fellow Czech Barbora Krejcikova guaranteed a ninth successive first-time women’s champion at the All England Club. Her win not only took her into the quarter finals of Wimbledon for the first time, it left the women’s draw intriguingly poised heading into week two with no clear favourite.
“For me, this court is so special. This is the first match I’ve won on this court. It means a lot,” Osaka said after her win. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun on the court, and to do it here really means a lot.”