French Open 2026: Elena Rybakina gets stunned by Yuliia Starodubtseva
What's the story
Women's singles number two seed, Elena Rybakina, failed to book her berth in the 3rd round of 2026 French Open. Rybakina was stunned by Yuliia Starodubtseva in three sets on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Rybakina won the first set 6-3. However, Starodubtseva made a superb comeback and floored the former 6-1 in the 2nd set. She then clinched the deciding set 7-6 (10-4). Here's more.
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Rybakina is now 67-23 at Grand Slams
Rybakina, who is a two-time Grand Slam champion, is now 67-23 at majors. Notably, she is still chasing her maiden Roland Garros title. She is now 17-7 at this event. Rybakina's best performance in Paris reads two quarter-final appearances.
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Rybakina's form in 2026
Rybakina started this season with a quarter-final exit at Brisbane International. She then won the Australian Open title. She lost in the quarters at Qatar Open before suffering a R16 exit in Dubai. Rybakina was a runner-up at Indian Wells and semi-finalist at Miami, losing on both occasions to Aryna Sabalenka. She won the Stuttgart Open before losing in R16 (Madrid) and quarter-finals (Rome).
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Staroudubtseva enters record books
As per Opta, Staroudubtseva became the first player to claim a third-set tie break win against a top-5 seeded opponent in women's singles at Roland Garros in the Open Era.
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Here are the match stats
Rybakina doled out 4 aces compared to her opponent's one. Both players committed 4 double faults each. Starodubtseva converted 5/11 break points with Rybakina managing 4/8. Rybakina clocked more winners 23-13. However, her 71 unforced errors compared to Starodubtseva's 36 was a deciding factor.