Aryna Sabalenka made short work of her first round match against qualifier Teodora Kostovic.
Sabalenka has suffered some uncharacteristic defeats recently, including in her last Grand Slam match against Diana Shnaider at Roland Garros.
However, it did not seem like this was on the world number one’s mind, with Sabalenka beating Kostovic 6-2, 6-3.
After progressing to the second round in just one hour and five minutes, Sabalenka was asked to rate her performance out of 10.
Aryna Sabalenka says she feels ‘pretty good’ after first round Wimbledon win
Sabalenka spoke in her post-match interview after the match, where she was asked how it felt to be back on Centre Court.
The Belarusian revealed that she was ‘super excited’, before Sabalenka pointed out Sir David Beckham in the Royal Box.
“I’m super, super excited to be back,” said Sabalenka. “It’s a special place and starting Wimbledon on this beautiful court in front of you all, Sir David [Beckham] thank you for being here!”
While Centre Court has become a familiar setting for Sabalenka, it was her opponent Kostovic’s first ever Grand Slam main draw match.
Despite this, Sabalenka was full of praise for the performance Kostovic produced, particularly in the second set.
“She put up a really good fight, stepped in a little bit more in the second set, pushed me a little bit,” said Sabalenka.
“I’m happy that I was able to close this match in straight sets and I totally get it, playing for the first time on Centre Court it’s a lot of pressure, but I’m pretty sure she will deal with that much better next time.”
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Sabalenka has been world number one for 89 consecutive weeks, but she admitted that she still gets nervous coming into these matches.
“I think we all get nervous, it’s just part of our lives,” admitted Sabalenka. “You just try to block that part of your brain and try to focus on yourself and I think with experience I learnt how to deal with nerves, expectations all of that a little bit better.”
Sabalenka then had one final question to answer, as she was asked to rate her performance against Kostovic out of 10.
The 28-year-old appeared pleased with herself, as Sabalenka gave herself an eight out of 10.
Sabalenka answered, “Actually I have to say, for the first match I feel pretty good. I rate myself, let’s say eight out of 10.”
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Sabalenka is now safely into the second round, and she will be hoping for another comfortable victory against her next opponent.
That next opponent is American McCartney Kessler, who won her first round match at Wimbledon this year 6-0, 6-0.
Kessler will no doubt have a much tougher test against Sabalenka, who she has only played once before.
In their only previous meeting at Indian Wells in 2025, Sabalenka beat Kessler 7-6(4), 6-3.
Sabalenka will be hoping to repeat this when she plays Kessler in her second round match at Wimbledon on Wednesday, July 1.
