LONDON (AP) — As if there were any doubt whether Aryna Sabalenka's loss in the Wimbledon semifinals on Thursday brought to mind her loss in the French Open final — and its aftermath — a month ago, she made it quite clear right away.
“Are you guys waiting for something? You’re not going to see a ‘Roland-Garros press conference,’” the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka said when she arrived for her question-and-answer session with reporters after being eliminated by Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Centre Court, “so anyone who was waiting for that, you can leave right now.”
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Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. celebrates winning the women's singles semifinal match against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 10, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus leaves the court after losing to Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. during a women's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts after playing a return to Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. during a women's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts as she plays Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. during a women's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
It was delivered as a punch line, knowing full well that the three-time Grand Slam champion was widely criticized for her words following a three-set loss to Coco Gauff with the trophy at stake in Paris.
There was plenty of online venom directed Sabalenka's way.
So much so, that Sabalenka first wrote a private apology to Gauff, then offered a public mea culpa, before the two patched things up by posting TikTok and Instagram videos together right before the start of competition at the All England Club.
“I just don’t want to face that hate again,” Sabalenka said Thursday. “We're all people. We all can lose control over our emotions. It’s absolutely normal. Every time when I was really that close in that match today to completely lose it and start — I don’t know — yelling, screaming, smashing the rackets, I keep reminding myself that’s not an option.”
After praising Anisimova — an American seeded 13th who will play in her first major final on Saturday against Iga Swiatek — as “the better player,” Sabalenka spoke about the feelings she experiences following a setback.
“The first moment (is) always the worst one, because every time you compete at that tournament, and you get to the last stages, you think that you’re getting close to your dream,” said the 27-year-old from Belarus. “Then you lose the match, and you feel like, ‘OK, this is the end.’”
Sabalenka was hoping to become the first woman in a decade to reach four major finals in a row after winning the U.S. Open last year, then finishing as the runner-up at the Australian Open and French Open in 2025.
She also was trying to get to her first title match at Wimbledon.
So used to overpowering opponents, Sabalenka ran into someone who hits as big a ball as she does.
“She was more brave today,” Sabalenka said. “Maybe when I was just trying to stay in the point, she was going for all. She was playing more aggressive.”
There were other things about Anisimova that Sabalenka acknowledged were irritating.
During one exchange, for example, Anisimova let out a shout before a point was over, and Sabalenka thought it was a premature celebration.
“I was, like, I mean, ‘That’s a bit too early.’ Then she kind of (angered me), saying that, oh, that’s what she does all the time," Sabalenka said. “I was grateful that she actually said that," because it helped bring out more fight.
Asked about that moment, Anisimova said: “I wasn’t celebrating. It was just a long grunt, I guess. I don’t really know what was the deal there, to be honest, because I didn’t feel like it was that interfering. But I tried to not do it again.”
During another point, Anisimova benefited from the ball trickling over the tape of the net and, instead of the usual “Sorry, not sorry” gesture players often use by raising a hand when that happens, seemed to be celebrating.
“I was like, ‘You don’t want to say sorry?’ She just wanted, I guess, badly to win this match,” Sabalenka said. “If she doesn’t feel like saying sorry — she barely got that point and she didn’t feel like saying sorry for that tricky situation? — that’s on her.”
As for what comes next for Sabalenka?
“I never give up,” she said, “and I’m going to come back stronger, for sure.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. celebrates winning the women's singles semifinal match against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 10, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus leaves the court after losing to Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. during a women's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts after playing a return to Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. during a women's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts as she plays Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. during a women's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to revive his struggling government but faced growing calls to resign after a disastrous set of local and regional elections for his Labour Party.
As the final results came in Saturday, Labour suffered a net loss of more than 1,100 local council seats across England, lost control of several local authorities it had held for decades and was booted from power in Wales after 27 years. Anti-immigration party Reform UK gained over 1,300 seats across England and made significant gains in legislative elections in Wales and Scotland.
It was a blunt verdict from voters in elections widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he led the center-left party to power less than two years ago.
Here are five things we’ve learned from the elections.
Starmer insisted he would not walk away and "plunge the country into chaos,” and the dire election results did not produce an immediate challenge to his leadership.
"The right thing to do is rebuild and show the path forward,” Starmer said Saturday. “That’s what I’m going to do in the coming days.”
Starmer’s Cabinet colleagues expressed support, and none of the high-profile Labour politicians considered potential challengers has made a move. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are keeping quiet for now.
But a growing number of Labour lawmakers urged the prime minister to set a timetable for his departure this year. British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a new election.
“There has to be a timetable,” legislator Clive Betts told the BBC. Another lawmaker, Tony Vaughan, said there should be an “orderly transition of leadership.”
Starmer tried to demonstrate change on Saturday by bringing back two figures from past Labour governments. He made former Prime Minister Gordon Brown a special envoy on global finance, and appointed the party's ex-deputy leader Harriet Harman an adviser on women and girls.
Starmer is due to make a speech on Monday in an attempt to regain momentum, before the government sets out its legislative plans on Wednesday in a speech delivered by King Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament.
The elections were a breakthrough for Reform UK, the latest hard-right party led by the veteran nationalist politician Nigel Farage.
Running on an anti-establishment and anti-immigration message, the party won hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England’s north, such as Sunderland, that were solid Labour turf for decades. It also made gains from the Conservatives in areas like the county of Essex, east of London, and increased its vote share in Wales and Scotland, new terrain for the party.
Farage said the results marked a “historic change in British politics.” He said he's confident that “voters who have come to us are not doing it as a short-term protest.”
Reform UK currently holds just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons and it’s unclear whether it could repeat its success in a national election.
The elections produced semiautonomous administrations in Scotland and Wales led by parties devoted to independence and the breakup of the United Kingdom — though neither has that policy on the front burner.
The Scottish National Party, which has governed in Edinburgh since 2007, won another term but fell short of a majority, meaning an independence referendum is unlikely. Labour and Reform tied in a distant second place.
Plaid Cymru (The Party of Wales) won the most seats in the Cardiff-based legislature, the Senedd. The party, which has an ambition for Wales to leave the U.K. but no plan to do so anytime soon, fell short of a majority but will likely form the new government. Reform came second and Labour a distant third in one of its most historic heartlands, with outgoing First Minister Eluned Morgan losing her seat.
The economy lies at the heart of Labour’s troubles, as it does for many incumbent governments.
Since ending 14 years of Conservative rule roiled by austerity and the COVID-19 pandemic, Labour has struggled to ease the cost of living and jump-start a sluggish economy against the tough economic backdrop of war in Ukraine and, more recently, Iran. Starmer also has angered supporters with attempts to cut welfare spending, some of which were reversed after Labour revolts.
Some in Labour say the government's achievements, including protections for renters and a higher minimum wage, are going unnoticed. Many blame Starmer, an uninspiring leader distracted by scandals including his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.
But Stephen Houghton, the outgoing leader of Barnsley council in northern England, where Labour lost to Reform, said the problem “goes deeper than the prime minister.”
“This has been coming for 30 years around the country, in post-industrial communities, coastal communities, that have been left behind,” he said. “You can change prime ministers all day long. If you don’t change policy, it’s not going to change.”
The results reflect a fragmentation of U.K. politics after decades of domination by Labour and the Conservative Party, which also suffered major losses on Thursday.
The elections offered voters a rainbow of choices, including the centrist Liberal Democrats and the nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales.
But the big winners were populist insurgents, Reform UK and the Green Party, whose focus has expanded from the environment to social justice and the Palestinian cause under self-described “eco populist” leader Zack Polanski. The Greens won hundreds of council seats from Labour in urban centers and university towns and took control of several local authorities.
Tony Travers, professor of government at the London School of Economics, said the results suggest the next national election, due by 2029, won’t produce a majority for any party.
“So then you’re in the world of, after the election, two or three big minority parties trying to work out how they would govern,” he said — something traditionally considered “very un-British.”
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)
First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney with some of the newly elected SNP MSPs in Edinburgh, Saturday May 9, 2026, following the 2026 Holyrood elections. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)
Observers from the Scottish National Party (SNP) watch as votes are counted for the 2026 Holyrood elections, at Dewars Centre in Perth, Scotland, Friday May 8, 2026. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks to supporters at Chelmsford City Racecourse, Friday May 8, 2026, in Essex, England, following the 2026 local election results. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks to Labour Party members at Kingsdown Methodist Church Hall, in Ealing, west London, Friday May 8, 2026, a day after the local elections. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)
