Aryna Sabalenka had an interesting interaction with a young boy after winning the first-round encounter at Wimbledon. The 27-year-old cemented her spot in the second round of the third Grand Slam of the year after beating Canada’s Carson Branstine in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 7-5.
While signing autographs after the match, Sabalenka was heard saying to a boy: “You shouldn’t be saying that”. She was asked about the incident during the media interaction. Sabalenka stated that it was a ‘fun moment’.
"Yeah, he was talking Brazilian-Portuguese, a little cursing stuff,” she said. "It was because of the video of me cursing in the practice went viral in Brazil. I replied, 'You shouldn't be saying that'. Yeah, it was a fun moment."
There have been some suggestions in the recent past that women’s tennis, just like men’s, should feature five-set matches from the quarterfinal stage. Sabalenka was asked about it during the press talk, where she stated that she is not in favour of any such proposals, even though she believes such a move will ‘benefit’ her.
“I think probably physically I'm one of the strongest ones, so maybe it would benefit me,” she said. "But I think I'm not ready to play five sets. I think it's too much on the woman's body. I think we're not ready for this amount of tennis. I think it would increase amount of injuries. So I think this is not something I would consider. I'll let this thing for guys to handle."
Sabalenka will now face the Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova in the round of 64. The 26-year-old won her first-round encounter against New Zealand’s Lulu Sun in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-4. It will be the fourth meeting between the two players in professional tennis. In the previous three meetings, Sabalenka had an advantage, winning twice. Their most recent meeting was in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International earlier this year, where Sabalenka emerged victorious in straight sets.
Vamos vamos vamos!
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 30, 2025
A flying start for @SabalenkaA on her return to #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/7yOxvnq4ZQ
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