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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.
Stats: Official wimbledon.com match statistics (IBM) · as of 2026-07-09
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.