Aryna Sabalenka’s 2026 Wimbledon campaign got off to a smooth start as she had no problems dealing with the “scary” power of Teodora Kostovic in the first round.
The 19-year-old Kostovic beat three seeded players in the qualifying competition to secure her place in the main draw and then confidently stated that she wanted to take on the world No 1 in the first round at the All England Club.
“I want to face Sabalenka,” the world No 184 said. “Let’s see if she can deal with my power. Of course I can beat her. I can beat anybody when I’m in the zone.”
The Serbian got her wish and took on the four-time Grand Slam winner on Centre Court on Monday, but the top seed’s experience and power were too much for her as she lost 6-2, 6-3 in 64 minutes.
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After the match, Sabalenka was asked about Kostovic’s pre-draw quotes and replied: “I have different information about her quote. I just figured after the match what she said. It’s so funny. Whatever.
“I think she said she want to see if I can handle her power (laughing) … so scary. It’s good that she has that self-belief. It’s a good thing to have.
“I’m not really watching to be honest my opponents’ quotes. Sometimes quotes get very tricky. Sometimes they can be taken out of the context. I’m really trying to separate myself from that side of the game.”
But playing against the best player in the world for the first time, as was the case for Kostovic, was always going to be difficult.
“It’s not easy when you play Centre Court against the world No 1, things are not going your way. It’s tough to handle,” Sabalenka said.
“It’s experience. Everyone been there. Everyone went through that. It’s all about how you recover and what you take from that match.”
The competition will get tougher from here on in as she will take on world No 57 Mccartney Kessler in the second round, while she could face 14th seed Naomi Osaka in the fourth round.
Some have raised questions about Sabalenka’s movement on grass ahead of this year’s tournament, but it’s so far so good.
“A lot of work on staying low. Obviously it’s a very short and quick transition. Yeah, I guess it’s a lot of work on handling really low balls and coming to the net, approaching the net a bit more. A lot of work on the serve,” she said.
“Yeah, I felt good today. As I said, couldn’t be more happier with that performance, with a straight [set win].”
Aryna Sabalenka after beating Teodora Kostovic at #Wimbledon:
“She said she wanted to see if I could handle her power… SO SCARY.” 💀
Cold answer. 😭
Writer: Loïc pic.twitter.com/cQDqCbc14l
— irevs.co (@irevsdotco) June 30, 2026
