Aryna Sabalenka has mostly done everything right this season. Still, the World No.1 is yet to clinch a slam in 2025. She reached the finals of the Australian Open down under but failed against Madison Keys. Earlier this month at the French Open, 70 unforced errors led to her downfall against another American, Coco Gauff. In total, Sabalenka has made it to seven tournament finals this year. Yes, she’s won three of them, but there’s no major. Being a three-time slam queen, it hurts. But one can never rule Sabalenka out, especially whenever a new slam campaign approaches. This time, she will look to go the distance at Wimbledon on grass.
But do you know who her first-round opponent is at the All England Club? Well, she hails from Canada, and it seems an early battle against the Belarusian hardly bothers the 24-year-old. In case you followed the Wimbledon qualifying week a few days back, you must have come across a specific name. Carson Branstine. Yes, she’s the one who caught attention after knocking out French Open semifinalist Lois Boisson. Branstine defeated her in a tense clash with a score line of 6-2, 6-7, 6-4. She then went on to win the next two rounds as well. After besting compatriot Bianca Andreescu and Cyprus’ Raluca Georgiana Serban, Branstine earned her main draw ticket to Wimbledon.
On Friday, the event organizers confirmed that Branstine will meet none other than Sabalenka in the first round. In such cases, a young, unknown player may already get nervous. But guess what? Branstine had a cheeky reaction to her opening bout against the heavyweight. Coming up with an interesting post in response to the draw announcement, she simply wrote, “Maybe one day I’ll get a good draw LOL”, taking a playful jab at Sabalenka. Perhaps Branstine wanted to convey that she may not find the Belarusian that tough. Really?
Maybe one day I’ll get a good draw LOL https://t.co/MqLZ6zitbu
— Carson Branstine (@carsonbranstine) June 27, 2025
This is a developing story…
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