Naomi Osaka beats Aryna Sabalenka to reach Wimbledon quartersESPN News ServicesMultiple AuthorsJul 5, 2026, 02:15 PM ET
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In a matchup of two of the hardest hitters on tour, Naomi Osaka outslugged top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6 (2) on Sunday to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time.
Sabalenka had beaten Osaka in all three of their previous matches this year — including at the same stage of the French Open last month. Osaka had never beaten a top-10 player at a non-hardcourt event, standing 0-13 in those matches.
But this time Sabalenka couldn’t handle Osaka’s pace and flat groundstrokes, which had an even bigger impact than usual as her balls flew through the air faster on the warmest day of the tournament so far. The temperature for the match on Centre Court reached 82 degrees Fahrenheit.
When it was over, Osaka performed a few fist pumps, let out a mild smile and then placed her racket over her head and spun around in delight to celebrate her first career win on Centre Court.
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“It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun on the court,” Osaka stated. “And to do it here, it really means a lot.”
It was Osaka’s first win over a No. 1 player since beating Ash Barty in Beijing in 2019. That was before Osaka, a former No. 1 herself, took breaks from the tour to manage her mental health in 2021 and for maternity leave that resulted in her missing all of 2023.
Osaka unleashed so much power that, during one point early in the second set, she practically pushed Sabalenka down to the ground.
It’s the second straight Grand Slam in which Sabalenka has failed to reach the latter stages, after a stunning meltdown against Diana Shnaider in the French Open quarterfinals last month, after which Sabalenka stated she wanted “to quit tennis.”
Sabalenka and Osaka have each won four Grand Slam titles and all of their major trophies have come on hard courts — at the Australian Open and US Open.
A Season Of “Firsts” For Naomi Osaka• 2026 French Open: first time reaching the second week of a non-hardcourt major
• 2026 Bad Homburg: first time reaching a WTA final on grass
• 2026 Wimbledon: first time defeating WTA top-10 player at a non-hardcourt event (0-13 entering round of 16 match win vs. No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka)– ESPN Research
Osaka is coming off the first grass-court final of her career, although she retired from the championship match in Bad Homburg, Germany, last weekend because of a foot injury.Osaka will next face Karolina Muchova, who beat 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.
Before the match, Osaka came out in the white kimono she has been wearing for her walk-ons at Wimbledon — which was inspired by a character in a Quentin Tarantino movie.
Toward the end of the first set, one of Sabalenka’s coaches came down from the stands with four freshly strung rackets for her — presumably at a higher tension to better control Osaka’s pace.
Osaka set the tone early on with an inside-out backhand winner on her first break point to take a 2-1 lead in the opening set.
Then in the second-set tiebreaker, a series of errors from Sabalenka put Osaka in command.
Longest Streak Without Straight-Sets Loss (Women At Majors In Open Era)YearsPlayerMatches1981-87Martina Navratilova1432020-26Aryna Sabalenka121*1973-79Chris Evert95*Snapped Sunday vs. Naomi OsakaOsaka saved the only two break points she faced and put 87% of her first serves in play — compared to 69% for Sabalenka.Osaka also led 8-5 in aces and 21-15 in winners in the match, which lasted less than 1½ hours.Sabalenka hadn’t had a straight-sets defeat at a major since losing in the second round at the 2020 US Open to Victoria Azarenka.
It’s her first time losing before the quarterfinals since the 2022 French Open, snapping a streak of 14 straight major appearances reaching the quarters or better. That was the second-longest streak by any woman since the start of 2000.
Sabalenka entered the day having won 21 consecutive tiebreaks at majors, the longest streak by any man or woman in the Open era. The previous record was held by Novak Djokovic, who won 19 straight from 2005 Wimbledon to 2007 Wimbledon.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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