Last Updated:
Yuliia Starodubtseva stuns Elena Rybakina at Roland Garros, reaching the French Open third round and matching her best Grand Slam run till now.
Yuliia Starodubtseva beat Elena Rybakina in a three-set thriller (Picture credit: AP)
Ukrainian tennis player Yuliia Starodubtseva produced a major upset at the French Open on Wednesday, beating second seed Elena Rybakina in a thrilling three-set encounter to advance to the third round at Roland Garros.
Rybakina blew a one-set lead dramatically at Roland Garros, slumping to a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10/4) defeat.
The loss marked Rybakina’s earliest exit from a WTA tournament since the 2025 Miami Open and her first defeat in the opening two rounds of a Major since the 2024 Australian Open.
Who Is Yuliia Starodubtseva?
Starodubtseva has achieved a career-high WTA singles ranking of world No. 53, reached on April 6, 2026, while her best doubles ranking is No. 144, attained on May 6, 2024.
Starodubtseva has won four singles titles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. She played college tennis at Old Dominion University in Virginia, United States.
Starodubtseva won her first $60k tournament in June 2023 in Sumter, South Carolina, where she beat Indian player Karman Thandi in the final.
Starodubtseva made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the 2024 Australian Open after coming through qualifying, but lost in the first round to sixth seed Ons Jabeur.
Starodubtseva qualified for the 2024 French Open as well, where she suffered another opening-round loss, this time against Cristina Bucșa.
Starodubtseva will face either in-form American 26th seed Hailey Baptiste or China’s Wang Xiyu for a place in the last 16.
Starodubtseva has already equalled her best-ever run at a Major, having reached the third round of the French Open as a lucky loser 12 months ago, where she was beaten by Jasmine Paolini.
Rybakina began strongly on a sweltering Court Suzanne Lenglen, easing into a 5-1 lead before wrapping up the opening set.
But Rybakina’s game quickly unravelled as an inspired Starodubtseva reeled off the first five games of the second set en route to taking the set.
Read More
Source link
[ad_3]
