Huge win for Osaka as world number one Sabalenka falls

The earthquakes in the Wimbledon women's draw show no sign of stopping. After Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina on Saturday, Sunday brought down the name at the very top of the rankings: 14th seed Naomi Osaka defeated top seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6(2) on Centre Court to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time in her career. The Japanese star wrapped up victory in one hour and 29 minutes to deliver yet another of the tournament's great shocks.

The opening set was close to one-way traffic. Flawless behind her serve, Osaka took it 6-2 in just 32 minutes. Sabalenka regrouped in the second and dragged the contest to a tie-break, but the big moments again belonged to Osaka, who ran away with it 7-2 to seal the match. The Japanese won 87 per cent of points behind her first serve and was never broken all afternoon; Sabalenka, one of the game's most ferocious hitters, failed to convert a single break chance.

The significance for Osaka is enormous. All four of her Grand Slam titles came on hard courts, and grass was long regarded as her weakest surface; her previous best at Wimbledon had never gone beyond the third round. Back on tour after becoming a mother in 2023, Osaka is writing the brightest chapter of her comeback story with this run, and her 21 winners on the day were proof of the confidence flowing through her game.

With Sabalenka's departure, all of the tournament's top three seeds are out before the quarterfinals and the women's draw is completely wide open. Osaka will face the winner of Karolina Muchova against Barbora Krejcikova in the last eight — and she is suddenly rated among the strongest title candidates left in the field.

Match Stats
Score: 6-2, 7-6(7-2) · Duration: 1 hour 29 minutes
Winners: Osaka 21 – Sabalenka 14
Breaks: Osaka 2/4 – Sabalenka 0/2 · First-serve points won: Osaka 87% – Sabalenka 73%

Image: Al Jazeera