Ostapenko Falls to World No. 1 Sabalenka at Wimbledon
Latvia's Aļona Ostapenko lost to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 4-6, 4-6 in the third round of Wimbledon, earning 130 ranking points.
Latvian tennis player Aļona Ostapenko suffered a defeat against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the third round of Wimbledon on Friday, July 3. The match ended 4-6, 4-6 in favor of Sabalenka.
Ostapenko, ranked 31st in the WTA rankings, started the match serving and won the first game. However, she missed a break point in the second game. Both players held serve until the fifth game, when Sabalenka converted her first break point of the match to lead 3-2. Ostapenko missed another break point in the sixth game and saved a set point in the ninth, but Sabalenka won the tenth game at love to take the set 6-4.
Ostapenko began the second set serving but lost her serve on the fourth break point. She immediately broke back at love to level at 1-1. In the third game, Sabalenka earned three consecutive break points and converted the third, then broke again in the fifth game for a 4-1 lead. Ostapenko broke back on her first of two break points in the next game and pulled to 3-4 in the seventh. She saved the first match point in the ninth game but hit a return long on the second match point in the tenth, losing the set 6-4.
This was the fifth meeting between the two. Sabalenka has won three of the previous four, while Ostapenko won their most recent encounter in the 2025 Stuttgart WTA 500 final in straight sets.
Ostapenko earned 130 WTA ranking points at Wimbledon. In earlier rounds, she defeated Britain's Harriet Dart (6-3, 3-6, 6-4) and Croatia's Antonia Ružić (6-2, 6-0). Sabalenka beat Serbia's Teodora Kostović (6-2, 6-3) and the USA's McCartney Kessler (6-1, 7-6 (11:9)).
In the fourth round, Sabalenka will face Japan's Naomi Osaka, who beat Daria Kasatkina.
Ostapenko is playing Wimbledon for the 11th time. Her best result is a semifinal in 2018, plus two quarterfinals (2017 and 2024). Last year she lost in the first round. Sabalenka is playing the Wimbledon Grand Slam for the seventh time; she has reached the semifinals three times (2021, 2023, 2025).
Ostapenko is also competing in doubles with American Sofia Kenin. They are seeded eighth and advanced to the second round after a three-set win.
