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THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB, London — Naomi Osaka’s transformation into a titan of grass-court tennis took its biggest leap forward Sunday, as she knocked Aryna Sabalenka out of Wimbledon in straight sets.
Osaka was nearly untouchable on a warm, still evening in London unlike anything she could have imagined for herself before this year. For a fourth consecutive match, Osaka crushed her serve and groundstokes, pushing the world No. 1 onto her heels and leaving her swatting desperately for balls that cruised and skidded past her.
With a 6-2, 7-6(2) victory, Osaka had her biggest win since she returned to the tour after pregnancy in 2024, and perhaps even since her last Grand Slam title win, all the way back in February of 2021.
For Sabalenka, it was another difficult result, in an early summer that has had far more of them than she might have anticipated after her mostly scintillating first three months of the season. Sabalenka made the final of the Australian Open and then completed a rare Sunshine Double with wins at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells and then the Miami Open.
But as the season moved to the organic surfaces of clay and grass, where it’s harder for her to find the stability she craves, her results grew rocky. That included a quarterfinal meltdown at the French Open, where she served for the match against Russia’s Diana Shnaider before spiraling out of form losing the final 10 games.
Sunday evening though, was more about Osaka’s fire and savvy than Sabalenka’s instability. It’s not clear that even an elite version of Sabalenka, who had won their three previous meetings this season, could have gotten the better of Osaka in this match.
That would have been hard for most people to fathom a week ago. They are both 28. Sabalenka is a three-time Wimbledon semifinalist. Osaka had never played a fourth-round match at the All England Club before. For years, the grass was a puzzle she felt like she couldn’t solve, and didn’t really seem to want to try.
The way she has talked about the past week, she’s not exactly sure why it’s all come together.
She seems to understand how to play with the surface, instead of against it. She has also unlocked the movement that any player needs to thrive on the surface. She felt like the player she was before her hiatus to give birth to her daughter, Shai, at last year’s D.C. Open in late summer, she said.
The process took close to two years. On a surface where movement is paramount, that has proven priceless, and it certainly did Sunday evening against Sabalenka.
There was Osaka, stutter-stepping across the grass and lacing forehands and backhands across the court. Over and over, her knees came within inches of the grass as she bent low for shots that skidded by her in the past, or forced her to swing up and set up her opponents for easy putaways.
After Osaka blitzed Sabalenka in the first set, Sabalenka steadied, but spent much of the second set fighting out of trouble. Osaka mostly cruised through her service games, riding that first big shot to serenity, while Sabalenka did all she could to hang in and force a tiebreak. She had won 21 in a row at majors. Surely that would provide some sanctuary.
Instead, Osaka’s serve remained immaculate. She started off with one that Sabalenka barely got her strings on. Then she blasted an ace that set the tone for what was about to unfold.
Quiet most of the match, Osaka let out a huge, fist-pumping “come on!” as she stretched her lead to 5-1 off another big serve. As they changed sides, the mission was nearly complete. After Sabalenka delayed a result that had begun to appear as inevitable as the sun’s descent over Centre Court, Osaka jumped on a return to take control of the point.
Sabalenka stretched once more, but there was doing nothing. The ball was in the net, and Osaka was away.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Tennis, Women's Tennis
2026 The Athletic Media Company
Continue reading...
Osaka was nearly untouchable on a warm, still evening in London unlike anything she could have imagined for herself before this year. For a fourth consecutive match, Osaka crushed her serve and groundstokes, pushing the world No. 1 onto her heels and leaving her swatting desperately for balls that cruised and skidded past her.
With a 6-2, 7-6(2) victory, Osaka had her biggest win since she returned to the tour after pregnancy in 2024, and perhaps even since her last Grand Slam title win, all the way back in February of 2021.
For Sabalenka, it was another difficult result, in an early summer that has had far more of them than she might have anticipated after her mostly scintillating first three months of the season. Sabalenka made the final of the Australian Open and then completed a rare Sunshine Double with wins at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells and then the Miami Open.
But as the season moved to the organic surfaces of clay and grass, where it’s harder for her to find the stability she craves, her results grew rocky. That included a quarterfinal meltdown at the French Open, where she served for the match against Russia’s Diana Shnaider before spiraling out of form losing the final 10 games.
Sunday evening though, was more about Osaka’s fire and savvy than Sabalenka’s instability. It’s not clear that even an elite version of Sabalenka, who had won their three previous meetings this season, could have gotten the better of Osaka in this match.
That would have been hard for most people to fathom a week ago. They are both 28. Sabalenka is a three-time Wimbledon semifinalist. Osaka had never played a fourth-round match at the All England Club before. For years, the grass was a puzzle she felt like she couldn’t solve, and didn’t really seem to want to try.
The way she has talked about the past week, she’s not exactly sure why it’s all come together.
She seems to understand how to play with the surface, instead of against it. She has also unlocked the movement that any player needs to thrive on the surface. She felt like the player she was before her hiatus to give birth to her daughter, Shai, at last year’s D.C. Open in late summer, she said.
The process took close to two years. On a surface where movement is paramount, that has proven priceless, and it certainly did Sunday evening against Sabalenka.
There was Osaka, stutter-stepping across the grass and lacing forehands and backhands across the court. Over and over, her knees came within inches of the grass as she bent low for shots that skidded by her in the past, or forced her to swing up and set up her opponents for easy putaways.
After Osaka blitzed Sabalenka in the first set, Sabalenka steadied, but spent much of the second set fighting out of trouble. Osaka mostly cruised through her service games, riding that first big shot to serenity, while Sabalenka did all she could to hang in and force a tiebreak. She had won 21 in a row at majors. Surely that would provide some sanctuary.
Instead, Osaka’s serve remained immaculate. She started off with one that Sabalenka barely got her strings on. Then she blasted an ace that set the tone for what was about to unfold.
Quiet most of the match, Osaka let out a huge, fist-pumping “come on!” as she stretched her lead to 5-1 off another big serve. As they changed sides, the mission was nearly complete. After Sabalenka delayed a result that had begun to appear as inevitable as the sun’s descent over Centre Court, Osaka jumped on a return to take control of the point.
Sabalenka stretched once more, but there was doing nothing. The ball was in the net, and Osaka was away.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Tennis, Women's Tennis
2026 The Athletic Media Company
Continue reading...
