Second seed Rybakina dumped out of French Open by Starodubtseva
Elena Rybakina, the second seed at the French Open, was unexpectedly defeated by unseeded Yuliia Starodubtseva in the second round. Rybakina lost after leading in the first set, ultimately succumbing to a final score of 3-6, 6-1, 7-6. This marks Rybakina's earliest exit from a WTA tournament since 2025 and a significant victory for Starodubtseva, who will advance to face either Hailey Baptiste or Wang Xiyu.
- ▪Elena Rybakina lost to Yuliia Starodubtseva in the second round of the French Open.
- ▪Starodubtseva achieved her first victory over a top-10 opponent.
- ▪Rybakina's defeat marks her earliest exit from a WTA tournament since the 2025 Miami Open.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva plays a backhand return to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their women's singles match on day 4 of the French Open tennis tournament on Court Suzanne-Lenglen at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on May 27, 2026. ALAIN JOCARD / AFP Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina suffered a shock early exit in the French Open second round on Wednesday, May 27, at the hands of unseeded Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva. The Kazakh world number two blew a one-set lead in dramatic fashion at Roland Garros, slumping to a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10/4) loss. "Honestly, hard to describe, I'm super happy," said world number 55 Starodubtseva after beating a top-10 opponent for the first time in her career. "I'm super proud of myself that I was able to do this today.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Le Monde (EN).
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