Women's top seed Aryna ​Sabalenka began her latest attempt to ‌claim her first Wimbledon ​crown with a routine ⁠6-2 6-3 defeat of Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic on Monday (June 29, 2026).

Still smarting ‌from an unsettling French Open exit, the world ‌number one was laser-focused ‌on ⁠Centre Court as she ⁠won the opening four games against the lowly ranked Kostovic.

She was eventually ​made to work ‌and there was a minor blip when she dropped serve at 5-2 in the ‌second set but it ​was only a temporary delay as she avoided any ⁠possibility of the sort of collapse she suffered in Paris ‌against Diana Shnaider.

"I'm super excited to be back," she told a crowd that included former England soccer captain David Beckham.

"I was happy ‌I could close this match in ​straight sets. For the first match I feel pretty ⁠good, maybe eight out of ⁠10."

Sabalenka, a losing semi-finalist on her last three ‌visits to Wimbledon, will take on American McCartney Kessler ​next.