WIMBLEDON — Aryna Sabalenka doesn’t give much away in a tiebreak these days. The World No. 1 has already pocketed three at Wimbledon, including Sunday against Elise Mertens to reach the quarterfinals, bringing her 2025 record in breakers to a staggering 16-1.
Who’s the only player to steal one from her this year? Ekaterina Alexandrova, who edged Sabalenka 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) in Doha back in February. She didn’t even realize she was the only one until Iga Swiatek mentioned it.
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“Iga showed me a couple days ago,” Alexandrova said this past week. “She said, ‘Look at this newspaper.’ They had a box saying I was the only one.”
It’s not the only tiebreak record Alexandrova holds. In 2023, she became the first woman ever to win a Wimbledon match in three tiebreak sets after defeating Madison Brengle 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 7-6[7] in the second round. Both these statistics are deeply ironic, according to Alexandrova.
“I have a difficult relationship with tiebreaks,” she said. “Especially in the third set.”
Indeed, by May 2023, Alexandrova, 30, had lost 16 of her first 17 deciding tiebreaks at tour level. Since then, she’s won four of her last five, though her overall record in third-set shootouts still sits at just 5-21. But if beating Sabalenka in that moment doesn’t build belief, what will?
“I’m trying to work out the issues,” Alexandrova said. “But this gives me some confidence. If you can beat Sabalenka in a tiebreak, you can do something in the next one, right?”
That was certainly the case against Sonmez. Alexandrova had dropped serve at 6-5 in the second set but used her disappointment as fuel to dominate the ensuing tiebreak.
“I was still upset because I couldn’t serve out the match,” she said. “But I couldn’t do better than what I did, she played so good.”
Alexandrova admits she’s slow to give herself credit. Even after wins, her mind automatically goes to what she could have done better and what she needs to improve on. But she’s quietly putting together one of the best seasons of her career in 2025.
She claimed her fifth title, and first at WTA 500 level, in Linz in February, and has gone on to reach a further four semifinals. She has a 5-3 record against Top 10 opposition this year — as well as the Sabalenka win, Alexandrova has defeated Mirra Andreeva, Zheng Qinwen and Jessica Pegula twice.
True to form, Alexandrova demurs when asked whether she’s in the best form of her life. Instead of the highs, she points to the lows — her early losses in Australia and the Sunshine Double. But beneath the modesty, she’s found she’s been able to take her game to the next level with her coach, Igor Andreev, with whom she started working last November.
“He sees the game differently,” she said. He’s bringing more variety to my game, so I can use different types of shots and combinations. Before, I was going on court and hitting as hard as I can. If it’s working, great. If it’s not, bad day. But with him, if something is not working you need to find something different. and you need to try until you find something that is working today. If some shots are not working, try another one, another one, another one.
“At first it was difficult because I was used to fast shots and that’s it. I was like, this is not the way I play. But the more I was trying to do it, the more I was able to see that you can always find something.”
Alexandrova is one of the most accomplished grass-courters on tour, with two titles (‘s-Hertogenbosch 2022-23) under her belt on the surface. She’s also unusual in that she took to it straight away. In her first-career event on grass, she qualified for Wimbledon 2016 — via back-to-back 14-12 and 13-11 third-set victories — and upset Ana Ivanovic in the first round of the main draw.
Once again, she wasn’t eager to praise herself. She had been one of the last direct entries into qualifying, boarding her flight to London unsure if she was even in the draw. Everything had moved too fast for her to take it in.
“The first time was a lucky one,” she said. “I didn’t know the surface at all or what to expect. I wasn’t thinking about what I need to do or not do. I just went on the court and everything went naturally. But even now, it’s really difficult to play on grass.”
Given that, Alexandrova isn’t surprised by the wave of upsets at Wimbledon this year. At No. 17, she’s the second-highest-ranked player left in the draw, behind Diana Shnaider, who has yet to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal. This could be Alexandrova’s chance to make a move. She will face Belinda Bencic in the fourth round on Monday, a week after beating her 6-1, 6-2 in Bad Homburg.
“It’s always different and it feels it’s impossible to find the right rhythm,” she said. “One day it’s hot and it’s flying, one day it’s cold and the bounce is super low. You always need to adjust and adapt. Every year, it’s like playing for the first time.
“I don’t remember many matches on grass where I came off court and thought it was super easy. But you need to be mentally prepared that it’s difficult. Only then is it going to be easy.”