Kazakhstan's representation at the Wimbledon tournament has been reduced to junior level. Following Elena Rybakina and Anna Danilina, Alexander Bublik leaves London after losing to Taylor Fritz of the USA in the fourth round – 6:7 (1:7), 4:6, 4:6. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The 28-year-old Californian Fritz is well known to Kazakh tennis fans. Primarily because he played mixed doubles with Rybakina at two winning Eisenhower Cups in Indian Wells. The head-to-head record between the American and Bublik is 4-4, but Fritz has won both meetings on grass, without dropping a set to the Kazakhstani.
The trend continued – Fritz again proved his superiority on grass in three sets. In the first set, Bublik took a 2-1 lead with a break but immediately lost his serve. He played poorly in the tiebreak, losing 1-7. In the second and third sets, Taylor needed just one break of serve each. Final score: 7:6 (7:1), 6:4, 6:2 in 1 hour 40 minutes. Aces: 23-13, total points won: 100-78.
On Monday, Anna Danilina also packed her racket at Wimbledon, losing in doubles after her mixed doubles defeat. The Kazakhstani, playing with Serbian Aleksandra Krunic, failed to reach a third Grand Slam quarterfinal this year. At the Australian Open and Roland Garros, where they reached the final, they were more fortunate. In London, the Estonian-Mexican pair of Ingrid Neel and Giuliana Olmos was stronger in key moments – 5:7, 6:4, 6:4.
The reputation of Kazakh tennis was upheld today by Damir Zhalgasbay. The 18-year-old, together with his American peer Jack Secord, won the opening match of the junior doubles draw in 1.5 hours against Puerto Rican Yannick Alvarez and Brazilian Leonardo Stork Frank – 7:6 (10:8), 7:6 (8:6). Additionally, Zhalgasbay, like Zangar Nurlanuly, advanced to the second round of the singles draw.
The Wimbledon Championships 2026 are taking place in London from June 29 to July 12. It is the third Grand Slam tournament of the season and the only one on grass.
The prize fund is £64.2 million. Singles champions and finalists will receive £3.6 million and £1.8 million, respectively.
The reigning Wimbledon champions are Italian Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek. Sinner defeated Japanese Shintaro Mochizuki (151) 6:3, 7:6 (7:0), 6:3 to reach the quarterfinals. Swiatek was eliminated in the third round.