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All England Club: World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka began her Wimbledon 2025 campaign in commanding fashion on Monday, dispatching qualifier Carson Branstine 6-1, 7-5 in 73 minutes on a record-hot opening day at the All England Club.

Sabalenka has played only two of the past four Wimbledon tournaments -- but made the semifinals both times. The people paid to figure these things out have installed Sabalenka as the one to beat, ahead of Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, and Coco Gauff.

The opening set was a formality, as she stormed through six of the first seven games in just 24 minutes. Branstine, playing her first Grand Slam main-draw match, managed to avoid a shutout with a blistering 120 mph ace that earned her the loudest cheers of the set.