Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – May 27, 2026 Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva celebrates winning her second round match against Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
Unseeded Yuliia Starodubtseva knocked out No. 2 seeded Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-4) during Thursday’s Roland-Garros action.
This is the first time that Rybakina, who won the Australian Open earlier this year, has failed to reach the third round at Roland-Garros since 2020.As a Lucky Loser last year, she fell to Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.
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NO. 2 ELENA RYBAKINA GETS STUNNED BY YULIIA STARODUBTSEVA IN ROUND 2 🤯 #RolandGarrospic.twitter.com/7EGRMxrTTa
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) May 27, 2026
This is the earliest a No. 2 seed has lost at Roland-Garros since Barbora Krejčíková failed to defend her title after going out in the first round in 2022.
Rybakin fell behind and eventually lost due to the large number of errors. She recorded 71 unforced errors in the match
Starodubtseva will face either No. 26 seed Hailey Baptiste or qualifier Xiy Wang of China.
