Wimbledon Day 3: Krejčíková stuns Andreeva, Gauff Escapes, Sabalenka advances

Two years ago, ranked outside the top 30 and recovering from a run of injuries that had threatened to derail everything she had built, Barbora Krejčíková walked onto Centre Court at Wimbledon and won the title. She was not supposed to. Nobody had predicted it. She did it anyway. On Wednesday, against the player the entire tennis world had arrived in London to watch win a second consecutive Grand Slam, she did it again.

London, England: Day 3 of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships belonged, emphatically, to the 2024 champion. Barbora Krejčíková defeated fifth seed and reigning French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in two hours and 47 minutes on Centre Court — the biggest upset of the women’s draw so far and a result that, in a single afternoon, reopened a title race that many had assumed was a two-horse contest between Andreeva and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Elsewhere, Coco Gauff survived the most dramatic escape of her campaign, Sabalenka advanced despite a wobble, and a late-night update about Serena Williams’ health cast a shadow over what had otherwise been a day of tennis theatre.

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Krejčíková: Through Injuries, Through Everything

The story behind Wednesday’s result is inseparable from everything Krejčíková has been through to get here. The 30-year-old Czech, ranked 38th in the world and operating without the fanfare of a top-ten seeding, spent much of the past two years battling a run of injuries and personal difficulties that kept her away from the circuit for extended periods. She won this title in 2024 as an unexpected champion. She arrived at this year’s Wimbledon with barely a mention in the conversation around title contenders.

Against Andreeva — 19 years old, riding the wave of her maiden Grand Slam triumph at Roland Garros last month, full of the fearless aggression of a player at the very peak of her powers — Krejčíková was tested immediately. The first set went to Andreeva, the Russian’s flat, heavy groundstrokes pinning the Czech deep and finding angles that suggested the match would follow a predictable course. Then Krejčíková began to impose herself. Her variations — slices, drop shots, changes of pace, constant invitations to break Andreeva’s rhythm — gradually unsettled the Russian teenager in exactly the way that pure power struggles to handle. Andreeva’s forehand, so reliable throughout the clay-court swing, turned increasingly erratic.

The turning point came in the second set. Krejčíková converted after six earlier match points had been wasted, a fortunate net cord finally leaving Andreeva helpless at the decisive moment of the match. The Russian’s frustration was raw and unfiltered — she hurled her racquet toward her chair after the final point and, at one stage during the third set, was seen telling her coaching box, “I don’t need it, I don’t want to hear it.” Krejčíková, as composed as her opponent was combustible, stayed entirely within herself.

“What a match! I’m extremely proud I managed to win on this beautiful Centre Court, the best court in the world,” Krejčíková said afterward. “I’ve been through a lot with the injuries but also in my personal life. It was really hard to get through with all the emotions, with everything that happened. I tried to go day by day.” She faces compatriot Nikola Bartunkova — who herself upset 32nd seed Kateřina Siniaková on Day 3 — in the third round. An all-Czech third-round match on Centre Court at Wimbledon is a story nobody saw coming on Monday morning.

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Gauff Survives; Sabalenka Wobbles

If Krejčíková was the story of the day, Coco Gauff provided the most nerve-shredding subplot. The seventh seed, who had cruised through her first round in 54 minutes, found herself in a genuine fight against Solana Sierra on No. 1 Court — winning 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7) after recovering from a 5-3 deficit in the final set and then, trailing 7-4 in the deciding tiebreak, saving three match points before eventually prevailing. A match point down, staring at a stunning exit — Gauff said afterward that Wimbledon has always tested her in a way other tournaments do not. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve my successes,” she confessed on court. She deserved this one. It was the kind of character-defining win that tournament runs are built on.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka had her own moment of vulnerability, dropping the opening set to McCartney Kessler before recovering to win 6-1, 7-6(9) — the tiebreak going to a tense 9-7, with Sabalenka saving two set points at 5-6 before closing it out. The world No. 1 committed 18 unforced errors in the second set alone, a level of fallibility that will encourage the draw’s remaining contenders. Sabalenka has never won Wimbledon — her best results have come at the semi-final stage — and the grass has historically demanded more from her than the hard and clay courts on which she has collected all four of her major titles.

Osaka, Pegula and the Rest Advance

For Naomi Osaka, Day 3 brought one of her cleanest performances of the tournament. The 14th seed defeated Anastasia Gasanova 6-3, 6-2 in a display that underscored how comfortable the four-time major champion has looked since returning to the tour in 2025. Fourth seed Jessica Pegula was equally assured against Sara Sorribes Tormo, winning 7-6(6), 6-1, while Karolína Muchová — a popular pre-tournament pick for a deep run given her game’s natural suitability to grass — dispatched Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-2. Belinda Bencic, Iva Jovic, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Anna Kalinskaya all advanced in straight sets or three-set matches without serious drama. Daria Kasatkina beat the Day 1 giant-killer Janice Tjen 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4 to maintain her place in the draw. Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion who remains one of the most dangerous floaters in any draw she enters, rolled past Antonia Ružić 6-2, 6-0 to advance to the third round.

The Serena Shadow

Away from the courts, the day’s most significant news arrived in a statement from Serena Williams’ team. It emerged that Williams had tweaked her right knee at the end of the first set of her first-round loss to Maya Joint on Tuesday — an injury that caused her to skip her post-match media obligations and raised questions about her ability to participate in the doubles competition alongside Venus Williams on Friday. “She left the site that night unaided and is doing everything she can to be ready for her doubles match,” her agent confirmed in a statement. Williams was scheduled to practice on Wednesday, but with the situation remaining uncertain, the possibility of Venus and Serena appearing together on the grass of the All England Club hangs in the balance — a subplot that, even in its uncertainty, carries the kind of emotional weight that only those two names can generate.

Day 3 is done. The women’s draw has been reshaped, its most hyped contender sent home by the woman who won here two years ago, and its most dominant American star reminded that greatness at this tournament requires fighting for every point, every game, every set. Thursday brings Iga Swiatek — who has her own questions to answer — against Karolína Plíšková. The Championships are just getting started.

Wimbledon 2026 — Women’s Singles, Day 3 Results
All England Club, London | Wednesday, 1 July 2026

Biggest upset: Krejčíková bt (5) Andreeva — French Open champion eliminated in Round 2
Injury watch: Serena Williams (right knee) — doubles appearance with Venus on Friday in doubt
Next: Krejčíková vs Bartunkova | Swiatek vs Plíšková (Day 4)