FAMOUS faces from the world of sport were spotted at Wimbledon in the Royal Box.
This included Gloucester-Hartpury star Zoe Stratford, who was there alongside Red Roses teammates Rosie Galligan and Marlie Packer.
Elsewhere, England legend Sir Geoff Hurst, Manchester United manager Michael Carrick and cricket icon James Anderson were also in attendance.
Former Wimbledon host Sue Barker and Chelsea star Lauren James also appeared as the defending men's champion Jannik Sinner made qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki eat his words with a straight-sets victory on Centre Court to safely progress into the quarter-finals.
Mochizuki had described the four-time grand-slam winner as a “celebrity” before this Sunday night meeting but promised to try and make life uncomfortable out of fear of being destroyed during a maiden fourth-round tie at a major.
Former Wimbledon junior champion Mochizuki at times lived up to his declaration with several eye-catching volleys along with a never-say-die attitude that endeared himself to the SW19 crowd, but Sinner eased through with a 6-3 7-6 (0) 6-3 win.
“Yes, first of all thanks for staying this long,” Sinner said at 10.01pm.
“First time we play against (each other), so I didn’t know exactly what to expect but tried to handle certain situations better than him. I think I did but he’s an incredible player.
“To come from qualies and play such a high level for as long as he did, I wish him nothing but the best and he should be proud of himself.
“Still, very happy with today’s performance and trying to step up a little bit better every day.”
This best run at a grand slam for Mochizuki occurred after a torrid first half of 2026, where he had won only five matches before he arrived in Nottingham for last month’s ATP Challenger event.
Meanwhile Aryna Sabalenka headed to the bar as Naomi Osaka marched into a first Wimbledon quarter-final.
In the biggest match of the women’s tournament so far, Osaka produced a brilliant display in a 6-2 7-6 (2) victory to send the world number one tumbling out of a major tournament before the quarter-finals for the first time since the French Open in 2022.
It was a record-breaking day of the wrong kind for Sabalenka, who also saw her winning streak of 21 consecutive grand slam tie-breaks ended, while she suffered a straight-sets defeat at a major for the first time in nearly six years.
“Obviously I’m not happy with the way I played but she overpowered me,” said the top seed. “I felt like it was an incredible level from her. I tried my best.”
Sabalenka will remain on top of the rankings after the tournament but it has been an unsettling period for the 28-year-old, who fell apart against Diana Shnaider in the quarter-finals in Paris and has now seen another opportunity to win a first Wimbledon title slip through her fingers.
The 28-year-old beamed after clinching one of her best wins since the last of her four grand slam titles in 2021, and she said: “I think it was a really fun match, I’m really grateful.
“For me, this court is so special, this is the first match I’ve won on this court. It means a lot. My mum’s over there and I feel like her cooking is powering me.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun on the court. Going into the match I’d lost to her three times in a row so that really sucked.”
Osaka said ahead of the contest that she finds Centre Court the scariest of all the grand slam main stages but it did not appear that way at any point.
She kept the same look she had modelled for her third-round match, walking out in a floor-length robe with draped sleeves and earning a warm reception.
“I kind of want to focus on my tennis now, so I might dial back a little bit,” she said of her fashion statements ahead of a last-eight clash with Karolina Muchova.
“I have different ways to mix and match it. But my favourite one is the one I’ve worn two times in a row now. It’s like the free-robe vibe.
“If you watch anime, there’s this anime called Bleach. It’s one of my favourites. I feel like I’m channelling a character from that whenever I wear the kimono in that way.”
Whilst Coco Gauff took another step towards breaking her ‘grass ceiling’ by overcoming a second-set wobble to scrape into round four with a rollercoaster victory over American qualifier Claire Liu.
The two-time grand slam winner has struggled to master the surfaces of the All England Club since famously stunning five-time champion Venus Williams on her debut at the age of 15.
Against a compatriot ranked 139 places below her, Gauff breezed through the opening set but squandered three match points at 5-4 up before losing the second-set tie-break with a double fault.
The world number seven eventually prevailed 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-2 in two hours and 26 minutes to match her best run at the Championships.
She will bid to break new ground when she takes on 11th seed Belinda Bencic for a place in the quarter-finals.
Former Olympic champion Bencic won the first battle between two seeded players in this year’s women’s draw by beating Russian 19th seed Anna Kalinskaya in a 10-point tie-break.
The Swiss, who suffered a semi-final loss to eventual champion Iga Swiatek last year, converted her third match point to progress 6-4 4-6 7-6 (10/6).
“I don’t think there is any player that is enjoying match tie-breaks,” said Bencic. “It’s for sure a lot of stress.
“Anything can happen. It’s really important to have a good start and fight for every point.”
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula eased past Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain 6-1 6-3 to set up an all-American match against Iva Jovic.
Jovic – the 16th seed – reached round four for the first time by defeating Russian 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3 3-6 6-4.
Karolina Muchova ended the run of Wimbledon debutant Mananchaya Sawangkaew with a 6-2 7-6 (1) victory.
The 10th seed will play compatriot Barbora Krejcikova – the the 2024 champion – next after she beat another Czech player, Nikola Bartunkova, 6-3 7-5.
