Wimbledon 2025: Emma Raducanu loses close battle with world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka
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British No.1 Emma Raducanu had a break lead over world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in two sets but ultimately lost out to the top seed in an entertaining Centre Court battle.
In her quest for a first Wimbledon and fourth Grand Slam title, Sabalenka defeated the 23-year-old Briton 7-6(6), 6-4 in two hours and one minute.
The 2021 US Open champion had her opportunities, having led 4-2 in the first set and 4-1 in the second, but every time Sabalenka went behind she managed to raise her game to another level.
Sabalenka hit an impressive 31 winners to ensure she retains her unbeaten record against British players.
Raducanu showed that she has the game to seriously challenge the best player in the women’s game and can take huge positives from another solid Grand Slam performance.
"It's hard to take a loss like that," Raducanu said. "At the same time, I'm playing Aryna, who is No. 1 in the world, a great champion. I have to be proud of my effort today.
"Positives was that I was toe to toe with her. Before the match, I actually went into this match feeling more confident than previous matches against the top, but I think there is a big difference in first serve. I think that's something that I need to improve on.
"It does give me confidence because I think the problem before was that I felt like I was gulfs away from the very top. Having a match like that where I had chances in both sets, it does give me confidence. At the same time, it's very difficult to take right now."
Sabalenka was full of praise for the British star in her post-match interview, tipping Raducanu to return to the very top of the game soon.
“She played such incredible tennis, and she pushed me so hard to get this win,” Sabalenka said. “I fought for every point like crazy and I’m super happy with the win. I’m happy to see her healthy, back on track and soon she will be back in the top 10.”
“She was making me move a lot, serving well, from the baseline she was playing great tennis. I was trying to stay focused, put as many balls as I could on that side and try to put all the pressure on her.”
Having a match like that where I had chances in both sets, it does give me confidence. At the same time, it's very difficult to take right now.
It was a high-octane encounter between two players who love to hit big from the baseline and early on, Raducanu showed the same intense urgency that saw beat former champion Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets.
The Briton got the early break off a costly error from Sabalenka in the fifth game but was quickly pinned by the three-time major champion, who then went on to set up a series of seven set points against the Brit’s serve.
Raducanu showed nerves of steel to stave off all seven – targeting the world No.1s backhand wide on her serve – before charging up the crowd again with a break of her own.
With the chance to serve out the set, once again Sabalenka managed to reel her back in to force a tie-break.
A set point opportunity for Raducanu came and went at 6-5 as Sabalenka finally went on to see out the set on the eighth time of asking with a delicate drop shot volley.
What felt like it could have been a real momentum shift in Sabalenka’s favour turned out to be the complete opposite.
Raducanu showed bags of spirit and mental strength to quickly move on to the second set, where once again she raced out to a 4-1 lead – leaving Sabalenka visibly frustrated with some uncharacteristic mistakes.
In the Roland Garros final, this derailed her performance in the closing stages of the match, but this time around, it was the complete opposite. Channelling that aggression into even bigger ball-striking and putting more pressure on Raducanu with each passing point.
Ultimately it proved a step too far for the world No.40 as Sabalenka managed to see out the final five games to book a fourth round clash with Belgium’s Elise Merten’s.
Two British players will content the round of 16 this weekend after Sonay Kartal knocked out Diane Parry and Cam Norrie defeated Mattia Bellucci earlier in the day.
