Wimbledon 2026 pages
Sports · Wimbledon 2026 · Women's Singles · Round of 64
Aryna Sabalenka vs McCartney Kessler — 6-1 7-6(9)
| Aryna Sabalenka✓ | 6 | 7 |
 McCartney Kessler | 1 | 69 |
Final · Wednesday, July 1, 2026 · Round of 64
Result
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka reached the third round with a 6-1 7-6(9) win over McCartney Kessler on No.1 Court. Sabalenka raced through the opening set but had to survive a marathon second-set tie-break, in which the American saved match points before the world No. 1 finally closed it out. Sabalenka struck 32 winners to Kessler's 17 and converted all three break points she earned.
Rows the source hadn’t published are left off rather than guessed.
At this Stage
Top seed, top half, business as usual — almost. Aryna Sabalenka arrived off a 6-2 6-3 win over qualifier Teodora Kostović; McCartney Kessler came in hotter still, having double-bagelled Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-0 6-0 for her maiden Wimbledon main-draw win. Sabalenka won 6-1 7-6(9), though the scoreline hides an 11-9 tie-break in which the American saved match points and made the world No. 1 sweat for it. For Sabalenka — a semifinalist here in 2021, 2023 and 2025, never yet a finalist — the reward is a last-32 meeting with Jeļena Ostapenko, fresh from a 6-2 6-0 rout of Antonia Ružić. At this stage, survival counts the same as a statement.
Round of 128
Round of 64
What we know now
Court: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London
Match length: 1:39
Tale of the tape
Player vitals: ATP Tour player profiles and Wikipedia (career records) · as of 2026-07-09.
The briefing
Storylines
- Sabalenka, the world No. 1, has reached the Wimbledon semifinals three times (2021, 2023, 2025) but never the final.
- Kessler had thrashed Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-0 6-0 in the first round for her maiden Wimbledon main-draw win.
- The second-set tie-break stretched to 11-9 after Kessler pushed the top seed to match points.
Head to head
Sabalenka led their head-to-head 1-0 coming in, and moved to 2-0 with this win.
Source: WTA head-to-head · as of 2026-07-01.
Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London — grass.