Aryna Sabalenka gets positive verdict from ex-Wimbledon finalist despite difficult spell
Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki has spoken to Tennis365 about Aryna Sabalenka after the Belarusian’s challenging recent run continued with a fourth round exit at Wimbledon 2026.
Sabalenka, who was aiming to win her maiden Wimbledon title and fifth Grand Slam overall, was beaten 6-2, 7-6(2) by 14th seed Naomi Osaka in the last 16 at the All England Club.
Prior to Wimbledon, Sabalenka had reached the quarter-finals or better at 14 consecutive Grand Slam events — a run that began at the 2022 US Open.
The world No 1’s defeat to Osaka came after she lost the final set 6-0 in matches at both of her previous two tournaments.
The 28-year-old fell 4-6, 7-6(4), 0-6 to Jessica Pegula in the Berlin Open semi-finals following a shock 6-3, 5-7, 0-6 loss to Diana Shnaider in the Roland Garros quarter-finals.
In her defeat to Shnaider, Sabalenka collapsed after she was up a double break at 4-1 in the second set.
While Sabalenka has occupied top spot in the WTA Rankings since October 2024 and been by far the most consistent player in women’s tennis during this period, she has won just one of the last seven majors since the start of 2025.
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Speaking exclusively to Tennis365, Lisicki assessed that it took Sabalenka “a while” to recover from her French Open exit and discussed her Wimbledon campaign.
“She’s been playing amazingly, and she’s number one for a reason,” said the former world No 12, who was a runner-up at Wimbledon in 2013.
“We all saw what happened at the French Open, and that’s the tricky part — when you see a draw opening up so much that the player has the feeling, ‘Oh, it’s the title to grab for me now’, that also adds a lot of pressure.
“So, I think we saw that pressure on Sabalenka at the French Open, that she crumbled there. I feel like it took a while for her to recover from it.
“I saw her playing in Berlin, and she was also struggling there, so I actually thought she started really well here [at Wimbledon], she played very good.
“And it’s a close match against Naomi. So close, just a few points here and there. So, I don’t think this match — it could have been a final, to be for real — sometimes the draw just plays out that way, and it is an earlier matchup, because Naomi isn’t seeded high enough yet.
“So, this tournament, I actually think she played pretty good, so I wouldn’t say — yes, it was an earlier exit; not expected for her — but seeing the draw, I don’t think it was a loss that shouldn’t happen.”
