Aryna Sabalenka, the world No.1, overcame a brief wobble to defeat Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of Wimbledon on Monday. Serving for the match at 5-2 in the second set, Sabalenka was broken, but she broke back immediately to seal victory.
Sabalenka's strong start
Sabalenka raced to a 4-0 lead in the first set, but Kostovic, 19, made her grand slam debut and showed promise, winning her first game at 4-1. The Belarusian closed out the set 6-2. In the second set, Kostovic broke Sabalenka at 5-2, but the top seed responded with a break of her own to win 6-3.
“For the first match I feel pretty good,” Sabalenka said. “I’d say I rate myself eight out of 10. She brought a really good fight, stepped it up in the second set and pushed me. Happy I was able to close this match in straight sets.”
Mental resilience after Paris loss
Sabalenka, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon for the past three years, came into the tournament with some doubts after losing in the French Open quarter-finals to Diana Shnaider, where she led 6-3, 4-1 before losing 10 straight games. She consulted her sports psychologist for the first time in years. “We all have nerves. We just try to put them away. I think with experience I have just become better at dealing with that,” she said.
Chwalinska's injury misfortune
Maja Chwalinska, a French Open finalist, suffered a cruel twist. Leading Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-2, 5-4 and one point from victory, she slipped on the grass and twisted her right ankle. Though she continued, her movement was hindered, and she lost 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.
“I’m definitely very disappointed,” Chwalinska said. “I was one point from winning a match. It’s a grand slam, so of course every match is very, very important. But yeah, I’ll get through it. It’s tennis, it’s sport, so I will lose many more like this, and I will hopefully win some like that.”
Pegula avoids early exit
Jessica Pegula, the American No.4 seed, avoided the early exit she suffered in 2025, beating Czech Darja Vidmanova 7-5, 6-3. “I definitely wanted to redeem myself a bit from last year’s exit and then also the early exit at the French,” she said. “I did well in Australia, I’ve done well in the US Open the last few years [so I] wasn’t happy about that. Little extra nerves or pressure today, as well, just with that in mind but then also motivation at the same time.”
Other winners
Former world No.1 Naomi Osaka and American rising star Iva Jovic also advanced to the second round.
