Wimbledon: Aryna Sabalenka puts out Raducanu's fire in Round 3 and avoids a high-profile departure

Aryna Sabalenka Survives Emma Raducanu Thriller to Reach Wimbledon 2025 Round 4

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka overcame an inspired challenge from Britain’s Emma Raducanu and a raucous Centre Court crowd to book her place in the fourth round of Wimbledon 2025. In a high-stakes battle filled with drama and elite shot-making, Sabalenka held her nerve to win 7-6(6), 6-4 in what many called a match of pure theatre.

Despite the straight-sets scoreline, the contest was anything but one-sided. Raducanu, cheered on vociferously by the home crowd, pushed Sabalenka to the brink. At one point, she led 4-2 in the first set and 4-1 in the second, and even served for the opener at 6-5. She saved seven set points in the tenth game of the first set with spectacular serving, but could not convert her own set point in the tiebreak. Sabalenka finally closed the set with a deft stop volley.

Raducanu’s resurgence since her 2021 US Open win seemed to find full bloom in this performance, especially after her stunning victory over defending champion Marketa Vondrousova. Her sharp shot-making and tactical variety had Sabalenka on the ropes for much of the match. At 4-1 up in the second set, she even held a break point to go 5-1 up—but Sabalenka responded with ferocity.

The Belarusian, the only top-six seed left in the women’s draw, showed her championship mentality by reeling off five straight games to seal the match. A netted return from Raducanu on match point ended her bid to reach the fourth round for a third time.

After the match, Sabalenka addressed the crowd:

"Wow! What an atmosphere. My ears are still hurting. It was super loud! Every time you were cheering her, I was trying to tell myself to just pretend that you were cheering for me. I had goosebumps."

“She played such incredible tennis and pushed me really hard. To get this win, I had to fight for every point like crazy.”

Raducanu, ranked 40th in the world, remained positive despite the loss.

"It's hard to take a loss like that. At the same time, I'm really going to remember that match because you play for those moments—to be competing toe-to-toe with the very best."

"I'm really grateful for all the support. It was electric. They were really behind me. Just disappointed I couldn't get over the line."

Sabalenka will next face Belgium's Elise Mertens in the Round of 16.