No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka earned a hard-fought 6-4, 7-6 (4) win Sunday over Elise Mertens — with whom she has won two Grand Slam doubles titles — to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Sabalenka has now made the quarterfinals of the past 11 majors she has appeared in (missed 2024 Wimbledon with a shoulder injury). Since the start of 2000, only Serena Williams has a longer streak on the women’s side, having made 16 straight major quarterfinal appearances from 2000 to 2005.
Sabalenka came into the match on Centre Court having beaten Mertens 10 times in 12 meetings — the most for her against any player on the WTA Tour — and the one-sided rivalry looked set to continue after she raced out to a 4-1 lead.
But Mertens battled back to level the first set at 4-all, before Sabalenka recovered to secure the break off a searing backhand crosscourt winner and claim the opening set.
The second set progressed to a tiebreak, where Sabalenka has been all but unbeatable in 2025, having not lost one since February in Doha. She improved to 16-1 in tiebreaks this year and with that secured her spot in the quarterfinals.
“I’m super happy with the performance. It was a battle. She always brings great tennis on court and I’m happy I was able to get this win,” said Sabalenka, who has yet to drop a set this tournament. “It’s tough to play against someone you’re quite close to, and she’s a great player, a great person. It’s tricky facing her. … I know that she’s going to fight till the very end and she’ll be trying to find something. She really challenged me today.”
Sabalenka will next play Laura Siegemund, the 37-year-old German who followed up her elimination of Australian Open champ Madison Keys by beating lucky loser Solana Sierra 6-3, 6-2.
“With your support, guys, I think everything is possible,” Sabalenka said, addressing the Wimbledon crowd which has warmed to her over the past week as she seeks her first title at the All England Club.
Siegemund became the oldest woman to reach her first career Wimbledon quarterfinal.
When her age was mentioned during an on-court interview, the crowd applauded, and Siegemund joked: “It’s not that often you get such a compliment for being old.”
ESPN Research, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
