‘Don’t Know What She Was Trying’ – Aryna Sabalenka Takes a Dig at Wimbledon Opponent for ‘Faking It’ in R1

Aryna Sabalenka has stormed into the third round of Wimbledon 2026 without dropping a set. The World No. 1 is chasing her maiden title at the All England Club and has every reason to be pleased with her campaign so far.

Sabalenka opened her tournament with a commanding 6-2, 6-3 victory over Serbia’s Teodora Kostović before overcoming American McCartney Kessler 6-1, 7-6(9) in a more hard-fought second-round encounter on Wednesday.

Aryna Sabalenka Raises Questions Over Teodora Kostović’s Pre-Match Claim at Wimbledon

Kostović, a 19-year-old qualifier, booked her place in the main draw by defeating Yeon Woo Ku 6-1, 6-4, rallying past Rebecca Šramková 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, and sealing qualification with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Zhu Lin.

Ahead of their opening match, she fired a warning to Sabalenka. “Let’s see if she can deal with my power. Of course I can beat her. I can beat anybody when I’m in the zone,” she told the WTA.

Sabalenka addressed the remarks during her post-match press conference and rather sarcastically described them as “scary.” After advancing to the third round, the World No. 1 expanded on her earlier remarks, explaining that she never considered the comments a serious threat because they weren’t matched by her opponent’s performance on the court.

“Me looking at this and then going to the match and seeing the reality, I think it was more like she was trying to trick herself, and she was just trying to boost that self-belief that she actually didn’t have.”

“Sometimes it works. It always depends on the personality. Sometimes you have to really fake it ’til you make it. Sometimes you have to stay grounded and be real and work with what you have,” she continued. “I would understand if it would be reasonable. But I went in that match and was like, which power was she talking about?”

Kostović, who reached a career-high ranking of World No. 177 in December 2025, is currently ranked No. 184. The 19-year-old has largely competed on the WTA Challenger and ITF circuits, with Wimbledon 2026 marking her Grand Slam main-draw debut. It also marked the first time she had faced a World No. 1.

“Sometimes it works if you actually have that self-belief. If you’re just trying to fake it and you don’t actually believe in it, it’s not gonna work,” Sabalenka said. “It’s important to stay true to yourself and be yourself and trust yourself. I don’t know what she was trying to do with that message exactly. For me it was just like, faking it a little bit.”

MORE: ‘Was Destroying Me’ – Aryna Sabalenka Explains Why Yelling and Throwing Rackets Are Essential to Her Game

After overcoming McCartney Kessler and Teodora Kostović, Aryna Sabalenka now faces a far sterner test against former French Open champion Jeļena Ostapenko in the third round on Friday.