Sabalenka makes winning start but Jabeur retires

Aryna Sabalenka (left) is chasing a first Wimbledon title, while Ons Jabeur (right) was runner-up in 2022 and 2023

Wimbledon 2025

Dates: 30 June-13 July Venue: All England Club

Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full coverage guide.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka celebrated her Wimbledon return with victory in the first round but two-time runner-up Ons Jabeur retired after struggling physically on the tournament's hottest ever opening day.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka, who missed last year's tournament with a shoulder injury, got off to a flying start on Court One before a more testing second set as she beat Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine 6-1 7-5.

Before the match, the Belarusian had said that the only thing she knew about her opponent was that she was "so beautiful" in reference to Branstine working as a model to fund her tennis career.

She will now know that the world number 194 also has a very powerful serve that she was able to deploy to make life more difficult for Sabalenka in the second set.

But with the temperature reaching 30C, Sabalenka was able to break the deadlock in the 11th game of the second set before serving it out to avoid having to spend any more time in the sweltering conditions.

"I'm super happy to be back, to be healthy and to compete at this beautiful tournament," said Sabalenka, who is chasing a first Wimbledon title.

"I was really depressed last year that I couldn't feel this atmosphere. I'm super happy with the performance of course. I'm super happy to get through."

Jabeur 'sad' after retirement

Earlier, Tunisian former world number two Jabeur visibly struggled in the conditions, leaving the court for 14 minutes for a medical timeout in the first set of her match against Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova.

Jabeur, who has dropped down the rankings over the past year because of injuries and is now 59th, eventually called it a day while trailing 7-6 (7-5) 2-0 after looking uncomfortable for much of the match.

She had looked distressed before that while sitting on her chair at the changeover, burying her head in her towel, drinking water and putting an ice towel around her neck before a physio took her blood pressure.

"I wasn't expecting not to feel good," said Jabeur, who did not hold a news conference and left with a doctor. "I have been practising pretty well the last few days but I guess these things happen.

"I'm pretty sad, it really doesn't really help with my confidence and what I keep pushing myself to do, even though it has been a very tough season for me."

She added that she would now rest and just "try to disconnect a little bit from tennis" and spend some time with her family.

Later in the day, last year's Italian runner-up Jasmine Paolini survived a scare to beat Latvian world number 402 Anastasija Sevastova 2-6 6-3 6-2, while Australian Open champion Madison Keys also had to come from behind to beat Romania's Elena-Gabriele Ruse 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 7-5.

It was, however, more straightforward for Marketa Vondrousova, who beat Jabeur in the 2023 Wimbledon final.

The Czech, who has struggled with injury over the past year but is rediscovering some form having won this month's Berlin Open, set up a meeting with Britain's Emma Raducanu by defeating Nottingham champion McCartney Kessler 6-1 7-6 (7-3).