Sabalenka makes winning start but Jabeur retires

Ons Jabeur, the two-time Wimbledon champion, retired after suffering with a physical strain on a hot day in London, while Aryna Sabalenka, the world no. 1, triumphed in the first round.

Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam champion who had a shoulder injury that prevented her from winning the previous year’s event, started the match with a strong 6-1 7-5 victory on Court One.

The Belarusian had previously claimed prior to the match that Branstine was only aware of her opponent because she was “so beautiful” and that Branstine was working as a model to support her tennis career.

She will now be aware that Sabalenka’s second set had access to a very powerful serve, which she was able to use to make things difficult for her.

However, Sabalenka was able to break the deadlock in the eleventh game of the second set as the temperature reached 30C before serving it out to prevent having to spend any more time in the sweltering heat.

Sabalenka, who is aiming for her first Wimbledon title, said, “I’m super happy to be back, to be healthy, and to compete at this beautiful tournament.”

“I couldn’t feel this atmosphere last year because I was so depressed.” Of course, I’m very pleased with how it turned out. I’m so relieved to have finished.

In the opening set of her match against Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova, the Tunisian former world number two clearly struggled in the conditions and had to wait 14 minutes before being forced to play again.

After looking uneasy for much of the match, Jabeur eventually called it a day, trailing 7-6 (7-5) 2-0, and has since fallen off the list due to injuries. He is now ranked 59th.

Before a physio examined her blood pressure, she had previously looked distressed while sitting in her chair during the changeover, burying her head in her towel, drinking water, and applying an ice towel to her neck.

Jabeur, who did not speak at a press conference and left with a doctor, said, “I wasn’t expecting not to feel good.” “Over the past few days, I have been practicing pretty well, but I suppose these things do.”

Even though this has been a very difficult season for me, I’m pretty sad because it really doesn’t help with my confidence and what I keep pushing myself to do.

She continued, “I’d like to take some time off now and just try to get some rest,” and spend some time with her family.

According to the weather forecast, Monday in south-west London will see temperatures as high as 33C.