Aryna Sabalenka has shown her class by leaving Emma Raducanu a heartfelt message on social media following their Wimbledon third-round clash on Friday. The world No. 1 ultimately proved too much for Raducanu in a competitive battle on Centre Court, winning 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 to progress into the last 16.
Despite Sabalenka ending her hopes of lifting a second career Grand Slam on home turf for another year, the British No. 1 can take plenty of positives from her campaign. She dispatched both fellow Brit Mingge Xu and former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-3 6-3 en route to a daunting date with the dominant Belarusian.
In the wake of her exit, Raducanu took to social media to offer thanks for the support in SW19 and to wish Sabalenka well for the remainder of the tournament.
The 22-year-old shared a carousel of images from the All England Club on Instagram, writing: “Many feelings to compute but that was a mega night to have been part of.
“Thank you for the thrilling energy and atmosphere. Good luck for the rest of the way, @arynasabalenka.”
Sabalenka was among the thousands to comment on Raducanu’s post, sending the home hero words of encouragement after their latest meeting.
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“You played incredibly good. I’m sure we are going to play big matches in the future,” the Wimbledon favourite penned.
Raducanu was visibly emotional after her defeat as she admitted it was tough to see the positives during her post-match press conference.
She told the media: “I think I’m just very self-critical. It’s hard to see. Of course, I’m very proud of being competitive on the court. I think I would rather that than it being completely one way.
“But yes, there are positives. Right now, it’s so soon after the match. I think it’s better for me to kind of feel a bit of the pain right now and then process it better that way.
“I think it’s difficult to see that right now, having just come off. It’s hard. It’s hard to take a loss like that.
“At the same time, I’m playing Aryna, who is No. 1 in the world, a great champion. I have to be proud of my effort today.”
Sabalenka will face Belgium’s Elise Mertens for a place in the quarter-finals as she pursues the first Wimbledon crown of her career.
The 27-year-old has won three Grand Slams, but her best performance in the English major was semi-final runs in 2021 and 2023.