Top quotes from the first Wimbledon media day: 'I played the sport because of them'

WIMBLEDON -- The first of two media days at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships are complete.

Past champions Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Barbora Krejcikova joined WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz stars Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Venus Williams and more that addressed the media. On Sunday, the second media day will feature seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams, 2025 finalist Amanda Anisimova, Naomi Osaka, among others.

Here are the best quotes from Saturday's media day: 

"I was aware [laughing]. I understand when it's time to tell my story, when it's time for someone else to tell their story. That is the important part in life is to know when to be quiet.

"Now it's time to speak, and I would like to say officially that I'm excited we're playing together and I can't wait till we hit the courts."

-- Venus Williams on her sister's, Serena Williams, comeback

"These weeks were something that I never experienced before. Definitely more attention and people recognizing me on the streets, which never happened before. Those are very nice things and hopefully I can adapt to that."

-- Maja Chwalinska on the weeks following her run to the Roland Garros final

"Couple bags of chips, some sweets, and I'm good to go [laughing]...I just need to leave the place where everything happened and then I feel little bit better."

-- World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on how she gets over tough defeats such as Roland Garros and Berlin

"I always dreamed about playing Serena Williams, and if you'd told me 10 years ago that I'd be playing her first round at Wimbledon, that's just crazy. I have so much respect for her, and she was one of my idols growing up."

-- Maya Joint on playing Serena Williams in the first round

"Honestly, no expectations. I'm trying to adjust things, to feel better physically, which is the most important thing. Try to raise a little bit the level of my game and be more consistent, but I know that right now, the first priority is to feel healthy, 100% health with my body."

-- 2024 finalist Jasmine Paolini on her season and Wimbledon expectations

"With the mic, it was my first experience. It was a bit weird because you can hear how you breathe out, but I felt like I was playing even better with this [laughing]"

-- 2022 champion Elena Rybakina on practicing mic'd up with Mirra Andreeva

"When I arrived on-site and I was warming up for my practice, they were doing the draw ceremony, I was watching like this [covers face] because I don't think anyone in the draw would have wanted to play against Serena. I'm going to speak for myself. I wouldn't want to play against Serena [laughing]. I would be just very nervous."

-- Andreeva on watching the draw ceremony

"I think I have more work to do. There’s always more work to do and things to get better at. But I feel like I'm in a position to do that and keep getting better. So I don't know if I'm playing my best tennis ever, but I think I think there's an opportunity to get there."

-- Emma Navarro on maintaining her current form

"It kind of depends. So far this year, during all the tournaments, I usually find it out the breakfast, the same day as I'm playing. I am deadlocked to actually not know until then, so it's no websites, nothing. It's actually tough. I don’t know, I just like it."

-- Krejcikova on when she likes to find our her opponent

"I played the sport because of them, believed that I could do things because of them. I look up to them a lot. Even when I played them, I'm still admiring. I think that's the only time that's happened to me in this sport."

-- Gauff on Serena and Venus

"Let's start with the fact that I don't have any towels left from last year. My friends wanted it, my family wanted it. I gave it to some charities because the thing became viral obviously. So I guess I should steal even more [laughing]. I will continue that because that's the best kind of souvenir you can get from a tournament."

-- Swiatek when asked if she will continue to take on-court Wimbledon towels

"It’s tough to get used to these conditions because even here, the match courts are completely different to the practice courts. We are just trying to maximize that one hour a day that we can have on a match court have a clear idea of how to play and what to do on the court. I feel that’s what makes grass the most unpredictable surface."

-- Diana Shnaider on adjusting to the Wimbledon grass courts