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DAY 1 WOMEN'S WRAP: Tearful Jabeur forced to retire, Sabalenka cruises

football30 June 2025 19:21| © AFP
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Two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur broke down in tears before retiring from her first-round match against Viktoriya Tomova on Monday.

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Tunisia's Jabeur was trailing 7-6 (7/5), 2-0 when she brought a premature end to her clash with the Bulgarian world number 111 at the All England Club.

The 30-year-old, beaten in the 2022 and 2023 Wimbledon finals, looked uncomfortable throughout the match in sweltering temperatures in London.

The world number 59 wiped away tears after losing a long fifth game in the first set and took a lengthy medical timeout, with staff attending to her before taking her off court.

Jabeur, who repeatedly used ice towels in a bid to cope with the heat, eventually returned to Court 14 after a 14-minute delay, but was unable to finish the match.

"I wasn't expecting not to feel good. I have been practising pretty well the last few days," said Jabeur, who did not specify the reason for her withdrawal.

"These things happen. I'm pretty sad. It doesn't really help me with my confidence."

The former world No 2's Wimbledon exit was the latest blow in a disappointing spell.

Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, has slipped down the rankings over the past year after injury problems.

Earlier this year she had breathing difficulties in the Australian Open second round after suffering an asthma problem.

"I keep pushing myself even though it was a very tough season for me, so I hope I can feel better and see what is going to happen," she said.

"Try to disconnect a little bit from tennis and try to enjoy life outside tennis.

"Try to recover and spend time with the family. Hopefully that can recharge me. Definitely rest is the word for it."

TOP SEED SABALENKA CRUISES INTO SECOND ROUND

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the second round, beating Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine 6-1, 7-5.

The 27-year-old Belarusian is a three-time Grand Slam champion but has never been beyond the semifinals at the All England Club.

She is looking to ease the pain of losing in the finals of the Australian Open and the French Open this year.

Sabalenka broke Branstine twice in a one-sided first set as the Canadian struggled with her serve.

Branstine was a tougher proposition in the second set, winning the first game to love on her own serve, but missed a chance to break in the next game.

The 24-year-old was playing her first Grand Slam main-draw match but enjoyed significant wins over French Open semifinalist Lois Boisson and Bianca Andreescu in qualifying.

The match were locked at 5-5 in the second set before Sabalenka broke in the 11th game and served out the victory to set up a meeting with New Zealand's Lulu Sun or Czech player Marie Bouzkova.

BRITISH CHARGE OFF TO A FLYING START

The biggest home assault on Wimbledon for 41 years got off to a great start when Sonay Kartal and Oliver Tarvet claimed upset wins and Emma Raducanu triumphed in an all-British clash before Katie Boulter took out the ninth seed.

By the end of the day, seven British players had made it to the second round, the most singles wins for the home nation in a single day at Wimbledon in the professional era.

British tennis is enjoying a buoyant period, and although former US champion Raducanu and Jack Draper are making most of the headlines, 23 local players started in the men's and women's singles this week, the most at Wimbledon since 1984.

Seven qualified directly through their top-100 world rankings, US-based collegiate player Tarvet came through qualifying and a further 14 were handed wildcards.

With Draper not in action until Tuesday, British women's number one Raducanu was the main attraction, although home loyalties were somewhat split as she faced 17-year-old Welsh wildcard Mimi Xu, making her Grand Slam debut.

Xu had not beaten a top 50 player and never looked likely to break that duck on Number One court as she went down 6-3 6-3.

Raducanu, desperate for a deep run in her home slam after a previous best of two fourth-round exits, did not have to do anything too extraordinary against a rival who for a while seemed intimidated by the occasion.

After Xu swung wildly for a rare air shot and then tumbled to the pristine turf after a slip, the 318th-ranked teen got what no young player wants to hear - some sympathy applause.

Raducanu swept to the first set, dropping only three points in her four service games, and with a lack of tension on court, the obligatory “come on Britain” shout drew the usual ripple of Wimbledon laughter usually reserved for any lingering pigeon.

Xu settled in the second set, however, finally getting to grips with the Raducanu serve during a run of five successive breaks, but the favourite got back on track to come through.

Raducanu, Boulter and Kartal were all in the top 50 last week, the first time three British women have been ranked that high since 1986, and Kartal got the day off to a flier by beating ex-French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-5 2-6 6-2.

She fought back from 4-1 down to win the first set before Ostapenko, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2018 and quarterfinalist last year, hit back to take the second.

However, the Latvian's famed inconsistency showed up again in the third as Kartal stormed to a 5-0 lead and, after a minor wobble, finished it off.

"I was happy to be first up," Kartal said. "I guess the other (British) guys that are coming out can maybe get a bit of motivation from my win."

Boulter then delighted the evening crowd on Centre Court as she put the icing on the cake by taking out Spaniard Paula Badosa 6-2 3-6 6-4.

There were also losses for Harriet Dart, Oliver Crawford, and teens Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic.

KEYS KEEPS EYE ON THE BALL TO REACH SECOND ROUND

American Madison Keys did not let an ailing opponent or the furnace-like conditions on Wimbledon's Court 2 distract her from notching up a 6-7(4) 7-5 7-5 victory over Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round.

Keys' hopes of extending her perfect 10-0 first-round record at the All England Club appeared to be in jeopardy when her Romanian rival bagged the first set with some sizzling shots from the baseline.

However, despite wrapping ice towels around her neck during the changeovers, the intense heat appeared to get to Ruse in the second set.

She called on the trainer, who escorted the Romanian off court for treatment after checking her blood pressure.

With the break lasting close to 10 minutes, Australian Open champion Keys opted to stay in the zone by hitting serves as she waited for her opponent to return to the court.

Trailing 5-3, the scorching 32-degrees Celsius heat caused Ruse further problems as she collapsed to the ground in agony clutching her right thigh, stricken by a bout of cramp.

Once she was free of pain, the world number 58 got back on her feet to level the set at 5-5 and stood two games away from toppling the sixth seed.

Keys then produced the kind of form that carried her to a maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne earlier this year as she won four games on the trot to take the second set and surge into a 2-0 lead in the third.

As far as Ruse was concerned, desperate times called for desperate measures.

Facing further break points which would have left her trailing 3-0, Ruse whipped across an underarm serve that caught Keys by surprise as it landed on the outer edge of the line.

If the 30-year-old had secured the double break, it might well have been game over for Ruse.

Instead, Keys was broken when she served for the match at 5-4, doubling over the net after she raced forward to hit the ball on break point down.

It proved to be Ruse's last hurrah though as Keys was screaming out a deafening 'Come on' just two games later after sealing victory. She will next face Serbia's Olga Danilovic.

"Really tough match, she played really well, obviously she was suffering a few issues as it was quite toasty out here," Keys said courtside as she wiped beads of sweat off her face and shoulders. "My serve got me through that match."

PAOLINI POWERS HER WAY INTO WIMBLEDON SECOND ROUND

Wimbledon fourth seed and 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini came from a set down to beat Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova 2-6 6-3 6-2, sealing a place in the second round.

The 5-foot-4-inch pocket rocket, who had not won a main draw match on grass before her surge to the Wimbledon final last year, looked a bit rusty in the early evening sunshine on Court 2, surrendering an early break to her 35-year-old opponent.

Sevastova, making her first Wimbledon appearance since 2021 after maternity leave and injury, set up another break point with a deft backhand slice and went 5-2 up when Paolini hit into the net.

The Italian made 13 unforced errors in the first set as her 402nd-ranked opponent took the lead.

The pair traded breaks twice in the second set but after an hour of play it was Paolini who had the momentum while Sevastova began to tire, the power ebbing away from her groundstrokes. Paolini broke again and served out the set to level.

Sevastova took a medical timeout before the third set, but on the resumption of play Paolini pounced and pummelled the Latvian into submission, rattling off three games in a row as the sun set on her opponent's stay at the All England Club.

The 29-year-old Italian, having found her rhythm and her voice, comfortably powered her way to victory and a second-round meeting with Russia's 80th-ranked Kamilla Rakhimova.

OSAKA OVERCOMES SPIRITED GIBSON

Four-times Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka survived a first-round scrap with Australian qualifier Talia Gibson to advance with a battling 6-4 7-6(4) first-round win.

Japanese players may have no great love for Wimbledon's lawns, having never got past the third round at the grasscourt major, but Osaka had enough quality and fight to subdue a spirited Gibson.

With the evening shadow spilling across Court 18 to take the sting out of what had been a ferociously hot day, former world number one Osaka had to fight back in both sets against the Aussie.

Yet after a second-round loss last year, the threat of another early exit was seemingly enough for the Japanese player to find extra gears when it mattered most.

Gibson was spraying winners around the court when she broke to go 3-1 up, but Osaka took stock and upped the pressure, breaking back to level at 3-3 and then again to take the first set as the Australian's error count soared.

Gibson, the world number 126, could have crumbled at that point, but instead she dug in, breaking for a 4-3 lead before a rollercoaster finale.

The Australian, who was making her main draw debut, twice served for the set but was denied both times as Osaka conjured crucial breaks to force a tiebreak, where her extra class told.

Osaka's form has been erratic since she returned after her maternity break at the start of last year, but there had been glimmers of hope for the current world number 53.

She reached the Australian Open third round in January before retiring injured and made the fourth round at the 1,000-level events in Miami and Rome this year.

Yet Osaka suffered a first-round loss at the French Open and has not had back-to-back wins on any surface since the Italian Open in May.

If she is to end that run at Wimbledon, the Japanese player will need to overcome either Katerina Siniakova or fifth-seeded Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the second round.

OTHER RESULTS

Marie Bouzkova (CZE) bt Lulu Sun (NZL) 6-4, 6-4

Marketa Vondrousová (CZE) bt McCartney Kessler (USA x32) 6-1, 7-6 (7/3)

Elise Mertens (BEL x24) bt Linda Fruhvirtova (CZE) 6-4, 6-2

Ann Li (USA) bt Viktorija Golubic (SUI) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1

Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) bt Varvara Gracheva (FRA) 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (10/8)

Elina Svitolina (UKR x14) bt Anna Bondar (HUN) 6-3, 6-1

Solana Sierra (ARG) bt Olivia Gadecki (AUS) 6-2, 7-6 (10/8)

Cristina Bucsa (ESP) bt Anca Todoni (ROM) 6-4, 6-4

Donna Vekic (CRO x22) bt Kimberly Birrell (AUS) 6-0, 6-4

Leylah Fernandez (CAN x29) bt Hannah Klugman (GBR) 6-1, 6-3

Laura Siegemund (GER) bt Peyton Stearns (USA) 6-4, 6-2

Olga Danilovic (SRB) bt Zhang Shuai (CHN) 6-2, 6-4

Kamilla Rakhimova (RUS) bt Aoi Ito (JPN) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2

Eva Lys (GER) bt Yuan Yue (CHN) 6-4, 5-7, 6-2

Linda Noskova (CZE x30) bt Bernarda Pera (USA) 6-2, 6-4

Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA x21) bt Rebecca Sramková (SVK) 7-6 (9/7), 6-4

Dalma Galfi (HUN) bt Harriet Dart (GBR) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5

Renata Zarazua (MEX) bt Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 6-0, 6-3

Amanda Anisimova (USA x13) bt Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) 6-0, 6-0

Diana Shnaider (RUS x12) bt Moyuka Uchijima (JPN) 7-6 (7/5), 6-3

Diane Parry (FRA) bt Petra Martic (CRO) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

Sonay Kartal (GBR) bt Jelena Ostapenko (LAT x20) 7-5, 2-6, 6-2

Ashlyn Krueger (USA x31) bt Mika Stojsavljevic (GBR) 6-3, 6-2

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) bt Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

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