Aryna Sabalenka makes 'completely drunk' admission after Naomi Osaka defeat at Wimbledon

It was Sabalenka's first straight-sets defeat at a Grand Slam since the 2020 US Open and ended her remarkable run of 21 consecutive Grand Slam tie-break victories.

Speaking moments after the upset, Sabalenka initially misheard a reporter who offered their sympathies following the loss.

"Did you say congratulations?" she asked before realising the mistake. "Oh my God, sorry."

Despite the disappointment, the Belarusian remained composed as she reflected on her exit.

"(I feel) no emotions," she said with a smile.

"Just know that I can handle myself much better than last year.

"Obviously, guys, if you were expecting something really fun, not going to happen. Probably just going to be short answers."

Sabalenka then delivered a brutally honest assessment of her tournament.

"I f***ed it up this year. Next year I'll try to do better," she said.

Asked what came next, she joked: "Get completely drunk, forget about tennis, and try to get in better shape."

Osaka produced one of the finest performances of her career on grass to dump the tournament favourite out of SW19.

The Japanese star, who had lost all three of her previous Centre Court appearances, played fearless tennis from the outset and overpowered Sabalenka with a relentless display from the baseline.

Before Sunday's meeting, Sabalenka had beaten Osaka three times this season, but the former world No 1 turned the tables in emphatic fashion.

Afterwards, Osaka revealed she had tried to remove the pressure by convincing herself she was playing nothing more than a practice match.

"I was just telling myself, like, 'There's a really big crowd for this practice match, but we're going to get through it,'" she said.

The mindset appeared to work perfectly.

Osaka dominated the opening set in just 32 minutes before keeping her nerve in the second-set tie-break to complete one of the biggest wins of the Championships.

The victory also carried extra significance given the history between the pair.

Osaka defeated Sabalenka at the 2018 US Open on her way to winning her maiden Grand Slam title, while Sabalenka has previously described that loss as a turning point in her own career.

Now, years later, Osaka has once again halted her rival's momentum on one of tennis' biggest stages.

Sabalenka also saw one of her proudest achievements disappear, having entered the match on a streak of 21 successive Grand Slam tie-break wins.

"That's a good statistic, right?" she said when reminded of the record afterwards.

"It's okay. I'll get back stronger. We'll start to build everything from scratch for the next one."

Osaka's reward is a Wimbledon quarter-final against Karolina Muchova as the former champion continues her impressive resurgence on the sport's biggest stage.