It's been a brutal stretch for the top-ranked player in women's tennis. Aryna Sabalenka, who stormed through the early part of the season with Sunshine Double glory, has hit a wall so hard it's now etched into the record books—for all the wrong reasons.
Her latest setback came Saturday in Berlin, where she fell to Jessica Pegula in three sets, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0. The final scoreline tells a familiar and painful story: after a competitive second set, Sabalenka's game completely unraveled in the decider, handing Pegula a bagel and making Sabalenka the first world No. 1 in WTA history to lose a deciding set 6-0 in consecutive events.
The streak of misfortune started at Roland Garros, where Sabalenka suffered an epic collapse against Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals. Up a set and a double break, she somehow lost the next two sets, including a 6-0 third set that left her emotionally shattered. She even admitted afterward that she thought about quitting tennis. “No thoughts, no emotions,” she said. “Just want to quit tennis right now.”
That loss followed a string of disappointing results: a quarterfinal exit in Madrid to Hailey Baptiste, and a three-set loss to Sorana Cirstea in Rome. Since winning Indian Wells and Miami, Sabalenka has looked like a shadow of the dominant force who ruled the hard courts earlier this year.
Grass season hasn't provided any relief. In Berlin, she needed a dramatic comeback just to get past Nikola Bartunkova in the quarterfinals. But against Pegula, the same pattern emerged—strong early, then a complete breakdown in the final set. The loss adds another layer of concern as Wimbledon approaches, a tournament where Sabalenka has never advanced past the semifinals.
For a player who once seemed unstoppable, the mental and physical toll is becoming impossible to ignore. The question now is whether she can regroup in time for the All England Club, or if this slump will define her 2026 season.
Meanwhile, the sports world continues to buzz with other major stories, including record-breaking World Cup ratings and fan base rankings that have captivated audiences globally.
