Naomi Osaka produced a career-defining performance on Centre Court on Sunday, July 5, to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time — another major milestone in her remarkable comeback since returning to the WTA Tour after becoming a mother.
The four-time Grand Slam champion stunned top seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6(2) in one hour and 28 minutes, delivering a display of power, precision, and composure to book her place in the last eight at the All England Club. It marked Osaka’s first win over Sabalenka in eight years, dating back to the 2018 US Open, after having lost to her three times already this season — at Indian Wells, Madrid, and Roland Garros.
Breaking Sabalenka’s Historic Streaks
The victory ended Sabalenka’s run of 14 consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals, handed her a first straight-sets Grand Slam defeat since the 2020 US Open, and snapped her 21-match tiebreak winning streak at majors — the longest in the Open Era, men included.
Vallejo Fined For Saying Women Cannot Handle Big Matches
Having never previously gone beyond the third round at Wimbledon in six main-draw appearances, the 14th-seeded Osaka delivered one of the finest grass-court performances of her career. Her booming serve and aggressive baseline game proved too much for Sabalenka, who had reached the semi-finals in each of her last three Wimbledon visits but has never made the final.
“Going into this match, I lost to her three times in a row, so that really sucked. I wanted to turn it over, and I’m really glad I had the opportunity to do that,” Osaka said afterward.
The win capped a week in which Osaka embraced her Japanese heritage through striking on-court fashion, including a kimono-inspired walk-out outfit, and made her the third Japanese woman in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals, joining Kimiko Date and Ai Sugiyama. She credited coach Tomasz Wiktorowski and her team for her renewed confidence on grass, where she has now recorded eight wins this season — already her best grass-court haul in a single year.
Osaka will next face Karolina Muchová, who eliminated former champion Barbora Krejčíková, for a place in the semi-finals as she continues her pursuit of a first Wimbledon title.