(July 5, 2026) On Sunday, Top Ten seed carnage continued at Wimbledon. No. 14 Naomi Osaka overpowered top seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6 (2). The Japanese woman who came into the match having lost to the Belarusian three times this year kept her hard-hitting groundstrokes accurate and her serve on point to stun the world No. 1. This was just her first win over a No. 1 player since 2019 when she beat Ash Barty in 2019. This was her first win over Sabalenka in eight years.
Former No. 1 Osaka has been making her way back up the rankings after giving birth to her daughter three years ago.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun on the court,” Osaka said on court after the match. “And to do it here, it really means a lot.”
Coming into Wimbledon, the four-time major winner, who has never really played well on grass, reached her first grass-court final in Germany but retired with a foot injury, which gave Czech player Karolina Muchova the win.
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Osaka will face Muchova in the quarterfinals.
No. 7 Coco Gauff beat the clock by winning her match with just two minutes before the All England Club’s 11 p.m. curfew by defeating Belinda Bencic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to make the final 8 at Wimbledon. At the end of the match, the two-time major winner Gauff tapped her left wrist to acknowledge that she was aware that she had just beaten the curfew. This will be the American’s first quarterfinal at Wimbledon.
“I was looking at the clock the last service game,” she said. “I was like, ‘I got to hit some big serves and some big shots.’ And honestly, that match point, I was going for a serve and volley because I was like, ‘I need to end the point.’
“That was probably the most dramatic finish. I’ve never had to race against time. Playing tennis we’re used to not having a clock. But honestly, today I felt the pressure. … Glad I didn’t choose basketball.”
It will be an All-American match-up as Gauff will take on her sometimes doubles partner, No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula. Pegula defeated another American Iva Jovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
“It will be the third flat hitter I’ve played in a row,” Gauff said. “The last two matches I’ve had definitely gave me prep for her.”
