Tennis Wimbledon Wimbledon Women's Singles -

Aryna Sabalenka reveals Rafael Nadal 'inspiration' after Wimbledon win over Jelena Ostapenko - 'I had goosebumps'

React to this story

Aryna Sabalenka said she was inspired after watching Rafael Nadal's recently released documentary, thanking the 22-time Grand Slam winner for helping her "stay focused and motivated" in her Wimbledon win over Jelena Ostapenko.

Highlights: Emotional wins for Eala and Dimitrov as Princess Kate and Sir Andy Murray watch on

Video credit: SNTV

The world No. 1 won 6-4 6-4 on Centre Court to advance to the round of 16, where she will meet Naomi Osaka in an intriguing clash on Sunday.

Sabalenka, 28, has yet to win a Wimbledon title, reaching the semi-finals on three previous occasions.

And the four-time Grand Slam winner said that she is channelling Nadal's mindset at SW19 this year.

WTA Washington

Nadal leads praise as Eala becomes first Filipino to win a WTA title with DC Open glory

15 hours ago

"It is an inspiration," she said of the four-part Netflix documentary in her on-court interview. "I had goosebumps through the whole series.

"So much you can take away from Nadal. One of the best lines from Nadal is: 'One of the only things you can control is your focus and your motivation' and that has been in my head ever since.

"That has helped me when things haven't been going well to stay focused and motivated. I don't know if he is watching but thank you for your series, it is an inspiration."

Sabalenka is aiming to add Wimbledon to her list of Grand Slam triumphs, having twice won the US Open and Australian Open.

It was an impressive performance from the tournament favourite to overcome the challenge of Ostapenko.

"She is really dangerous," Sabalenka said. "Last match I played against her, I couldn't do anything, she just smashed me off the court. I was happy I was able to get this win, especially in straight sets."

Sabalenka has previously struggled to find her best form on grass but there are signs that is beginning to change.

"The plan is to get better every day," she added. "A little better level every time I am competing on this beautiful grass."

All eyes will be on Sabalenka's match against Osaka, who is yet to drop a set at this year's Wimbledon after beating Daria Kasatkina 6-1 6-3 in the third round.

‘My life is busy’ – Williams questions ‘unprofessional’ protocols that nearly derailed comeback

Video credit: SNTV

"Another aggressive player," Sabalenka said of the Japanese star. "Another very powerful match. I'm ready to fight and do whatever it takes to get through."

Osaka is in resurgent form, reaching the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time since her Australian Open title in 2021.

"I’m really happy," she said on No. 1 court after beating Kasatkina. "I’ve actually never won on this court, so I’m just really glad to have made a really good memory here. It was a really big honour for me to play, so thank you.

"I definitely felt really good today. I’ve played a lot of matches on grass for the past two weeks, so I felt really confident. She played really good as well, so I’m really happy with the result.

"I’m just trying to take it one day at a time, one point at a time even. It was really fun to play and I hope I keep going further and further."

Add TNT Sports as a preferred source here to enjoy more content like this.

Enjoy daily highlights from Wimbledon 2026 on tntsports.co.uk and the TNT Sports app, plus watch and stream highlights each evening and the men's and women's singles finals live on TNT Sports and HBO Max

US Open Mixed Doubles -