Sabalenka sweeps the keys and reaches the semifinals of Wimbledon for the second time in a row

Aryna Sabalenka reached the semifinals at Wimbledon for the second time in a row, with a one-year break in between as she was banned from the tournament in 2022.

Sabalenka, a Belarusian who is seeded second at the All England Club, had to sit out last year’s competition along with other players from her country and Russia because of the war in Ukraine. She advanced on Wednesday by defeating Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4 at No. 1 Court.

“It feels really great to be in the semifinals again. I can’t wait to play in my second semifinal at Wimbledon,” said Sabalenka, who lost to number two Karolina Pliskova in 2021. “Hopefully I can do better than I did last time.”

The win improved Sabalenka’s record to 17-1 at major tournaments this year. She won the Australian Open and reached the semifinals at the French Open before taking five victories on grass at Wimbledon to date.

Sabalenka also improved her record to 6-0 in Grand Slam quarterfinals, and she did so despite much cheering towards Keys on Wednesday.

“Thank you very much for the atmosphere, even if you supported her more,” Sabalenka said in court. “I still enjoyed playing for you.”

Sabalenka will then face defending champion Elena Rybakina of Ons Jabuer. They played in another quarter-final match at Center Court.

Later on Wednesday, in the men’s quarter-finals, top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz was scheduled to face Holger Rune on Center Court. Daniil Medvedev would play Chris Eubanks on No. 1 Court.

Queen Camilla was in attendance on Day 10 of the tournament, about a week after Kate, the Princess of Wales, was in the Royal Box.