Aryna Sabalenka conquers inspired Laura Siegemund on Wimbledon Centre Court

Aryna Sabalenka won her toughest battle thus far at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, rallying from a set down to defeat Laura Siegemund, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The world No. 1 was on the ropes early against an on-fire 37-year-old—and twice trailed by a break in the third—but ultimately managed to hit through Siegemund’s impressive variety to edge into her third SW19 semifinal after a grueling two hours and and 54 minutes on Centre Court.

The win also clinched Sabalenka the first spot at the 2025 WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF at the end of the season.

Sabalenka hadn’t dropped a set through her first four matches at SW19, steeling past home favorite Emma Raducanu and former doubles partner Elise Mertens to reach an 11th straight Grand Slam quarterfinal. Having finished runner-up at the last two major tournaments, the three-time major champion was in hot pursuit of a first title at Wimbledon, but found herself flummoxed by Siegemund as play got underway on Tuesday.

Siegemund had won just two matches in five previous appearances at the All England Club, reaching the second round last year. Unseeded at this year’s Championships, she stormed into the second week with back-to-back wins over No. 29 seed Leylah Fernandez and No. 6 seed Madison Keys—the reigning Australian Open champion—and took a quick 3-0 lead over Sabalenka.

Though the top seed nabbed one of the breaks back, she soon found herself down 5-2 with Siegemund earning two chances to serve for the set. Struggling to win points on her second serve, Sabalenka got within a game of leveling the contest but Siegemund put together a strong service hold to move within six games of a career-best victory.

Battling with windy conditions and Siegemund’s inspired play, a visibly frustrated Sabalenka saved a crucial break point with a tough overhead in the seventh game, taking a 5-2 lead after losing an early break in the second. A nearly ten-minute game saw Siegemund save set point but ultimately succumb to Sabalenka’s power, forcing a third set.

Siegemund snapped a run of five games against her with a lucky netcord; once on the board, she played a near-perfect return game to take the first break of the decider, repeatedly drawing Sabalenka to net with well-struck drop shots.

Sabalenka whacked the net in anger as the set began to slip away but kept in touching distance thanks to some ill-timed misses from Siegemund at net. Breaking back with help from a strong forehand, Sabalenka exchanged another break with Siegemund as the match deadlocked at four games apiece.

Sabalenka struck her first two aces of the match to move within four points of victory, letting out a roar as the second slid past Siegemund. In an ironic twist, Sabalenka earned match points off a slice forehand—the shot that had bothered the Belarusian for most of the match. Siegemund saved one with a drop shot but was outmatched on the second, Sabalenka putting away a triumphant volley to end the nearly three-hour thriller.

Into a fourth straight Grand Slam semifinal, Sabalenka will next face either No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who are facing off in the second women's quarterfinal on No. 1 Court.