Tennis player Aryna Sabalenka did not hide her deep frustration after being eliminated in the round of 16 of the Wimbledon tournament this Sunday, July 5, 2026. The world number 1 was beaten by Naomi Osaka in straight sets, with partials of 6/2 and 7/6(2), and confessed that she was not feeling up to her position in the world rankings after the match.
During a press conference, the Belarusian expressed her dissatisfaction with the performance presented on the court. “I am currently number 1 in the world. However, today my level did not correspond to that position. I feel that, at this moment, I don’t want to think about rankings; my desire is to just go out, drink a lot, forget about tennis for a while and try to recover to improve”, declared Sabalenka, highlighting the weight of the defeat in one of the main tournaments on the circuit, especially for an athlete at the top of the sport.
Naomi Osaka’s victory represented a remarkable achievement, being only the second time that the Japanese woman has beaten Sabalenka in her career, the first since the round of 16 of the 2018 US Open. With this result, Osaka advances to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for the first time in her career, where she will have Czech Karolína Muchová as her next opponent.
Tennis player’s assessment of the current season
Sabalenka gave a candid analysis of her results throughout the season, admitting overall disappointment but also congratulating Naomi Osaka on her exceptional performance on Sunday. In other 2026 Grand Slams, the Belarusian reached runner-up at the Australian Open, being defeated by Elena Rybakina, and reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, where she was eliminated by Diana Shnaider.
“I really messed up this year. My goal is to do better next season. Obviously I’m not happy with the way I played, but she simply surpassed me in terms of strength. I feel like her performance was at an incredible level; I gave it my all. Unfortunately, this year wasn’t my year. I didn’t play my best, and she probably reached the peak of her performance. Sometimes it happens that you give your all and still lose the match. I’m not happy, really. Congratulations to Naomi, I wish her all the best”, concluded the athlete.
