Naomi Osaka has claimed her biggest win on grass after knocking top seed Aryna Sabalenka out of Wimbledon in straight sets.
Osaka, who didn’t beat a top 20 player on the grass until last month, produced a stunning 6-2, 7-6(2) win over the world No. 1, ending Sabalenka’s run of winning 21 consecutive tiebreaks at major events. The triumph continues Osaka’s fairytale run at SW19, where she had never reached the second week until this year.
Throughout the clash, Osaka remained calm as a highly charged Sabalenka struggled to keep her powerful ball striking under control, as well as her emotions. In the opening set, she managed to claim back-to-back breaks of her rival’s serve to surge to a 5-1 lead. Sabaklenka managed to stop the run of games, but it was too late in the opener.
Heading into the second frame, Osaka maintained her edge with the help of a dominant display behind her first serve, where she won 11 out of 15 points, and didn’t face a single break point. Even in the tiebreak, the Japanese No.1 appeared to be the one in control despite the stellar tiebreak record of her opponent. Wrapping up victory in just under 90 minutes.
“It was a really fun match. I’m really grateful,” said Osaka.
“Even if I lost, I would still think it was a great match.
“For me, this court is so special and this is the first match I’ve won on it, so it means a lot.
“It has been a long time since I’ve had so much fun on the court, so to do it here means a lot.
“Going into this match, I had lost to Aryna [Sabalenka] three times in a row. I wanted to turn it over and I’m really glad I had the opportunity to do that.”
Heading into today, the four-time Grand Slam champion boasted 14 wins over top 10 players during her career, but all of those were on a hardcourt. She is currently enjoying her best-ever season on the grass after reaching her first Tour-level final on the surface last month in Germany.
Earlier in the tournament, Osaka linked her rise in form to the work with her coach. She has been working with Tomaz Wiktorowski for less than a year, with 2026 being the first time they have worked together on the grass. Wiktorowski is the former coach of Agnieszka Radwanska and Iga Swiatek.
“The big Polish man! Shout out Tomasz [Wiktorowski]!” Osaka said on court.
“Also, a shout-out to the rest of my team, they are the best team ever. I have so much fun with them and I learn so much from them. I’m so grateful they are on this journey with me.”
Sabalenka’s bittersweet exit
Osaka’s triumph brings more heartbreak for Sabalenka, who is yet to contest a Wimbledon final in her career. This is the only major event where she hasn’t played in a title match. Last year she was beaten in the semi-finals by Amanda Anisimova, who went on to lose 6-0, 6-0 to iga Swiatek in the final.
“I’m not happy with the way I played but she overpowered me. I felt like it was incredible level from her. I try my best,” Sabalenka told reporters.
“I feel like my level was really low today, plus she was feeling her best. 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.”
It has been a tough few weeks for Sabalenka on the Tour. Before Wimbledon, she exited both the French Open and the Berlin Open by losing the last set 6-0. She started the season by winning three out of her first four tournaments played.
As for if she believes her current level reflects her No.1 ranking, Sabalenka refused to get into that discussion.
“Right now I’m world No. 1. Level-wise, today I wasn’t world No. 1. Yesterday I was world No. 1.” She states.
“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.”
As Sabalenka exits SW19, Osaka will play Karolina Muchova in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
