Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus celebrates her victory against McCartney Kessler of the US of their second round women’s singles match, at Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
LONDON–World primary Aryna Sabalenka battled through a troublesome second set against American McCartney Kessler to achieve the Wimbledon third round on Wednesday.
The four-time Grand Slam champion, who has reached 14 successive major quarter-finals, won 6-1, 7-6 (11/9) on Court One to secure a last-32 meeting with former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko.
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“That was a real battle and I’m super pleased that I used to be in a position to stay in that second set to get into that tie-break,” said Sabalenka.
“She really tested me and I’m super pleased to pass the test.”
Sabalenka has never won Wimbledon, losing within the semi-finals on each of her past three visits.
Kessler missed two set points when serving for the second set at 5-3 ahead, before Sabalenka fought back and took a tie-break, through which her 57th-ranked opponent saw one other two set points come and go.