After losing to Naomi Osaka at Wimbledon on Sunday in her earliest Grand Slam exit since 2022, world number one Aryna Sabalenka declared she wanted to “forget about tennis” and get drunk.
The Belarusian lost 6-2, 7-6 (7/2) on Center Court after Osaka, a fellow four-time major champion, put on an incredible display.
She has not advanced past the quarterfinals of a Slam for the first time since the French Open four years ago.
“I just want to go, get completely drunk, forget about tennis, and try to get in better shape,” AFP quoted Sabalenka as saying.
The 28-year-old has endured multiple near-misses at the Grand Slams and has never won the French Open or Wimbledon. She has frequently attributed such to her own mental weaknesses, but this time she thought Osaka was deserving of praise.
“I feel like honestly it wasn’t there today. I tried my best. I was trying to adjust as best as possible,” added Sabalenka.
“I honestly feel like I left everything today. I don’t know. For some reason I didn’t have level at all. Like, I was overpowered, maybe couple times got over-emotional, but I was trying to stay in control. Yeah, I feel like sometimes there are days like that. You just have to say congrats and leave.”
In her maiden Wimbledon quarterfinal on Tuesday, Osaka will take on Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova in an attempt to win her first Grand Slam championship since the 2021 Australian Open.
