Elena Rybakina Crashes Out Of French Open

By Eppe Franklyne

Elena Rybakina suffered a stunning exit from the French Open on Wednesday after Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva fought back to claim a dramatic second-round victory at Roland Garros.

The Australian Open champion and world number two appeared in control after taking the opening set, but Starodubtseva produced an impressive comeback to win 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10/4).

The result marked the biggest victory of the Ukrainian’s career as she defeated a top-10 player for the first time.

“Honestly, hard to describe, I’m super happy,” said world number 55 Starodubtseva after the match.

“I’m super proud of myself that I was able to do this today. It was a tricky third set but I got it done in the end.”

For Elena Rybakina, the defeat represents her earliest exit from any WTA tournament since the 2025 Miami Open. It also marks her first loss within the opening two rounds of a Grand Slam tournament since the 2024 Australian Open.

Meanwhile, Yuliia Starodubtseva continued her strong run at Roland Garros and matched her best performance at a major tournament. Last year, she reached the third round of the French Open as a lucky loser before eventually losing to Jasmine Paolini.

The Ukrainian now advances to face either American 26th seed Hailey Baptiste or China’s Wang Xiyu for a place in the last 16.

The victory also boosted Starodubtseva’s earnings significantly. After reaching the third round, she has secured €187,000 in prize money. A win in her next match would increase her total earnings at the tournament to €285,000.