WORLD number two Elena Rybakina suffered a surprise second-round defeat by 55th-ranked Yuliia Starodubtseva today in the biggest French Open upset so far.
Despite winning the opening set, Rybakina looked far from her clinical best as Starodubtseva mounted an impressive comeback to win 3-6 6-1 7-6 (10-4).
Known for her big serve and precise hitting, reigning Australian Open champion Rybakina committed 71 unforced errors and landed just 53% of her first serves.
It is the first time Kazakhstan’s Rybakina has failed to reach the third round at the Paris major since 2020, while it is her earliest exit from a Grand Slam since the 2024 Australian Open.
Rybakina’s early exit also means Aryna Sabalenka will keep her world number one ranking regardless of her result at Roland Garros.
The 26-year-old needed to be reach the semi-finals to be in with a chance of ending Sabalenka’s near-two-year reign at the top of rankings.
Meanwhile, third seed Iga Swiatek has already booked her place in the third round after beating Czech left-hander Sara Bejlek 6-2 6-3 on Court Philippe-Chatrier earlier.
It wasn’t quite as easy as the scoreline might suggest, however, with the four-time former champion dropping serve four times in the match.
Swiatek famously doesn’t like knowing her draw, which might be just as well, given she will face either Jelena Ostapenko or fellow Pole Magda Linette in round three.
Ostapenko has been a real nemesis for Swiatek in the past, winning all six previous matches they have played.
Elina Svitolina needed a third-set tie-break to get through her first-round match at the French Open, but progression from the second round has been much more straightforward.
The seventh seed from Ukraine is into round three with a 6-0 6-4 win over Spain’s Kaitlin Quevedo.
BBC Sport
