Naomi Osaka beat top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6 (2) on Sunday to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time in her career. The win came on Centre Court, where Osaka had never won before, and ended a run of three straight losses to Sabalenka this year alone.
The match was played on the warmest day of the tournament so far. Temperatures reached 28 degrees Celsius, or 82 Fahrenheit, and Osaka's flat, hard-hit groundstrokes moved faster through the warm air than usual. Her pace overwhelmed Sabalenka from the opening set.
Going in, Osaka had a clear plan. Sabalenka had beaten her at the French Open last month, as well as in Indian Wells and Madrid earlier this year. "On the clay courts I felt like she was pushing me back a lot. I just tried to do it to her first," Osaka said. The strategy worked from the start. She won the first set 6-2 and held off Sabalenka in the second-set tiebreak, winning it 7-2.
Sabalenka did not dispute what happened. "She overpowered me," she said. "I felt like it was incredible level from her."
Osaka described her approach as staying within her own game. "Obviously we're big ball strikers. It's not like I'm going to start running around the court trying to draw an error from her. I can only focus on my strengths," she said. "I just tried to serve really well, because it's grass. I also tried to get the upper hand in the rallies first."
When the match ended, Osaka hit a few fist pumps, smiled briefly, then put her racket over her head and spun around on Centre Court. It was her first win over a world No. 1 since defeating Ash Barty in Beijing in 2019, before a series of extended absences from the tour. She took time away in 2021 to manage her mental health, then missed all of 2023 for maternity leave. Her daughter turned three years old the Thursday before the match.
Earlier this year, after a loss to Iga Swiatek at the Italian Open in May, Osaka said she left without telling her team. "It wasn't the most professional thing to do," she said. "I felt really ashamed about what I did. So then after that I just told myself, 'Hey, I'm nearing 30, I really got to enjoy the time that I have.' Also, obviously tennis is very, very important to me, but I have a life outside of that. I have to treasure tennis in the way that I can, which is not putting too much importance on it."
Sunday's result was a contrast with how Sabalenka's 2026 Grand Slam season has gone. At the French Open last month, she lost in the quarterfinals to Diana Shnaider and afterward said she "just want to quit tennis." She now exits Wimbledon in the fourth round. Osaka, meanwhile, advances and will play a quarterfinal at a Grand Slam for the first time in several years.
