Elena Rybakina suffered a shock defeat at the French Open, losing to Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva in the biggest upset of the tournament so far. The second seed and Australian Open champion won the opening set but was overpowered in the second and third sets, eventually falling 3-6 6-1 7-6 (10-4) in a gruelling match played in intense heat.
Starodubtseva, ranked 55th in the world, earned a double-break in the deciding set to lead 3-0, but Rybakina fought back to force a match tiebreak. The Ukrainian, however, dominated the tiebreak to secure the biggest win of her career and her first victory over a top-10 opponent.
“It’s hard to describe, I'm super happy,” Starodubtseva said. “Elena is one of the top players. She has had an incredible year and I'm super proud of myself that I was able to do this today. It was a hard third set, but got it done.”
Rybakina could have replaced Aryna Sabalenka as world number one with a strong performance in Paris, but she has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in eight attempts. Her early exit removes a potential obstacle from four-time champion Iga Swiatek's side of the draw.
Starodubtseva equals her best result at a Grand Slam by reaching the third round for the second consecutive year. She is the third Ukrainian woman to reach the third round in Paris, joining Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk.
