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Asked after her second-round win over Marie Bouzkova whether she took a peek at the A-listers, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka said she did her best not to, to avoid being distracted.
If she had looked over that day, she would have spotted Rodrigo, professional wrestler-turned-actor John Cena, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas and her husband, singer Nick Jonas.
“I was trying not to look today. I’m really glad that I wasn’t looking there [because] I would be like this the whole match,” Sabalenka said, doing her best impression of the heart-eyes emoji. “I was just trying to focus on my game. Later on, I’m going to open social media and be, ‘OK, who was there?’”
The royal box is traditionally transformed on the first Saturday of the championships to honour a starry collective of champions from world sport – and it was no different this past weekend.
In a special presentation, BBC Sport’s Clare Balding announced a series of British and international sports stars, who stood, waved and bowed to appreciative applause from the Centre Court crowd.
They included ex-English cricketers Sir Andrew Strauss and Lord Ian Botham, Olympic gold medal-winning athletes Dames Kelly Holmes and Denise Lewis, seven-time Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Sir Jason Kenny, grand slam champions Billie Jean King and Andy Roddick, and ex-English footballer Jamie Redknapp.
Australian actors Rebel Wilson and Cate Blanchett were among the stars in the royal box at Wimbledon.Credit: Getty Images
Similarly to Sabalenka, British player Emma Raducanu tries to keep her focus on her opponent – but does take the occasional glance.
“It’s so special in the royal box to have those kinds of people in there,” Raducanu said.
“It definitely adds a bit of pressure, I guess, if you look up and recognise [them]. That’s why I try and stay with my eyes on the court as much as possible. Only after, you look up and take it all in, if they’re still there.”
Marc McGowan travelled to Wimbledon with the support of Tennis Australia.
Watch all the action from Wimbledon live & on-demand on Stan Sport, with Centre Court in 4K. Also available live and free on the 9Network and streaming on 9Now.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
Asked after her second-round win over Marie Bouzkova whether she took a peek at the A-listers, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka said she did her best not to, to avoid being distracted.
If she had looked over that day, she would have spotted Rodrigo, professional wrestler-turned-actor John Cena, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas and her husband, singer Nick Jonas.
“I was trying not to look today. I’m really glad that I wasn’t looking there [because] I would be like this the whole match,” Sabalenka said, doing her best impression of the heart-eyes emoji. “I was just trying to focus on my game. Later on, I’m going to open social media and be, ‘OK, who was there?’”
The royal box is traditionally transformed on the first Saturday of the championships to honour a starry collective of champions from world sport – and it was no different this past weekend.
In a special presentation, BBC Sport’s Clare Balding announced a series of British and international sports stars, who stood, waved and bowed to appreciative applause from the Centre Court crowd.
They included ex-English cricketers Sir Andrew Strauss and Lord Ian Botham, Olympic gold medal-winning athletes Dames Kelly Holmes and Denise Lewis, seven-time Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Sir Jason Kenny, grand slam champions Billie Jean King and Andy Roddick, and ex-English footballer Jamie Redknapp.
Australian actors Rebel Wilson and Cate Blanchett were among the stars in the royal box at Wimbledon.Credit: Getty Images
Similarly to Sabalenka, British player Emma Raducanu tries to keep her focus on her opponent – but does take the occasional glance.
“It’s so special in the royal box to have those kinds of people in there,” Raducanu said.
“It definitely adds a bit of pressure, I guess, if you look up and recognise [them]. That’s why I try and stay with my eyes on the court as much as possible. Only after, you look up and take it all in, if they’re still there.”
Marc McGowan travelled to Wimbledon with the support of Tennis Australia.
Watch all the action from Wimbledon live & on-demand on Stan Sport, with Centre Court in 4K. Also available live and free on the 9Network and streaming on 9Now.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
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