Paris [France], May 28: Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina crashed out in the biggest upset so far at Roland Garros.
The second seed looked to be heading for a routine win when she took the opening set against Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva in the second round on a sweltering Court Suzanne Lenglen. But Rybakina began to find life a lot more difficult and Starodubtseva, ranked 55 and in good form, won nine of the next 10 games to lead 3-0 in the decider.
The Kazakh player's errors were far outpacing her winners as she toiled in the heat and, although she recovered to force a tie-break, Starodubtseva completed the biggest win of her career with a 3-6, 6-1 7-6 (10-4) success.
It is Rybakina's earliest grand slam exit since a second-round loss at the US Open in 2024, with an eventual tally of 71 unforced errors telling its own story.
Four-time champion Iga Swiatek comfortably avoided the same fate, easing into round three with a 6-2, 6-3 win over young Czech Sara Bejlek.
The Pole has had a difficult season so far but appears to be heading in the right direction under new coach Francisco Roig, even if she was not entirely happy with her performance.
"Sometimes I had some moments where the mistakes happened but, at the end, I feel like I was the one that had control over the game, and it was up to me if I'm going to finish this points or make a mistake," she said.
"In important moments I was focused and patient enough to play solid." Swiatek will also be relieved not to have to face Jelena Ostapenko, against whom she has a 0-6 record, next after the Latvian lost to another Pole, Magda Linette.
In-form seventh seed Elina Svitolina had a much easier time of it after her first-round struggles, beating Kaitlin Quevedo 6-0, 6-4.
Source: Qatar Tribune
