Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula were mic’d up on Center Court at the All England Club ahead of Wimbledon, answering questions from Laura Robson while practicing together. It was breezy and good-humored, right up to the moment Robson asked Sabalenka how she had enjoyed the third set of their Berlin semi-final. What followed was a witty reply from the Belarusian.

“Oh, that was an amazing experience. I felt like I’m a good player, that I really deserve my spot in this sport,” Sabalenka said. She then paused and said, “She really humiliated me like a baby.”

A 6-0 third set will do that. The bagel in the decider was the most extreme method to settle the Berlin contest, which ended 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-0 to Pegula, their first match against each other on grass. Sabalenka made clear she had no plans to hold a grudge. “But I’m still good with her. She’s the best.” 

Pegula’s reaction when told they were now practicing together was equally telling. “I was surprised when she asked me to practice today. I was shocked.” 

Sabalenka’s response came quickly: “Did we ask to practice?” 

It turned out they had not. Robson had set it up herself. “Oh, you did?” Pegula said. “She didn’t ask at all. So thanks, Laura. You can thank Laura then.”

The exchange was funny precisely because the result it was referencing was anything but, at least for Sabalenka. It was the first time in their rivalry that either player had bageled the other. The world No. 1 leads their head-to-head 9-4, a dominance built almost entirely on hard courts over six years of competition.

But it’s grass that changes the equation. Pegula has two grass-court titles: the 2024 Berlin Open and the 2025 Bad Homburg Open. Sabalenka, despite reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals last year, has never won a title on the surface. The Berlin result indicated that there is more to the gap than meets the eye. 

That puts the Wimbledon draw in a special category. Sabalenka is the top seed and faces Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostović in her first-round match, while fourth seed Pegula starts her campaign against Czech player Darja Vidmanová. They are seeded to meet in the semi-finals, which would set up the rematch Berlin could not quite deliver, given that Pegula lost the Berlin final to Linda Noskova after beating Sabalenka. 

On Center Court, with a Wimbledon final at stake, the dynamic between them would look very different from the one captured in the mic’d-up exchange. For now, at least, they are still good with each other. Apparently, Robson’s scheduling worked. Wimbledon is Sabalenka’s last hurdle at the majors.

She has won four Grand Slam singles titles across the Australian Open and US Open, reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year before losing to Iga Swiatek. None of her 24 career titles has come on grass. She has encountered challenges that have not been seen in clay or on hard court. 

Sabalenka’s season outside of grass has been extraordinary: a 33-5 overall record, titles at Brisbane, Indian Wells, and Miami, and a fourth consecutive Australian Open final. The one thing the record does not contain is a grass-court run that convinces. Will Wimbledon finally put an end to it, or will Pegula wait somewhere in the second week to remind her of Berlin again? 

Djokovic offers Sinner advice while mic’d up at the All England Club

The mic’d-up moment between Sabalenka and Pegula was not the only revealing exchange to come out of the Center Court preparations this week. On Court 1 at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner had a training session. When the Serbian was asked whether he had any advice for the defending champion heading into his title defense, Djokovic took a beat before making his position clear.

“To be honest, I do not think Jannik needs my advice. He is doing pretty well,” Djokovic said. “I’m just trying to be the best practice partner I can be for him. All joking aside, it’s obvious he has had a couple of incredible years in his career. To walk onto Center Court, onto that fresh, virgin grass, as the defending champion, I do not think there is a feeling like it in tennis. It’s maybe even in the top five feelings of any sport. So I do not have any advice to give him, but I do want to tell him that he needs to enjoy the moment, because there are not many moments like this.”

It was a response that said as much about Djokovic as it did about Sinner. The seven-time Wimbledon champion knows precisely what the feeling of walking out as defending champion on Center Court is, because he has done it repeatedly. The Serb and Sinner trained together on Court 1 as both fine-tuned their preparations ahead of a draw that has them projected to meet in the semi-finals. 

Djokovic’s decision to skip the Giorgio Armani Classic exhibition earlier in the week without explanation means the training session was the most match-like preparation he has had on grass this season. Likewise, Sinner, who has skipped the entire grass-court season, was also getting practice with a player who is exceptionally familiar with the surface among all competitors.