Yuliia Starodubtseva delivers French Open shock, sends 2nd seed Elena Rybakina packing
French Open 2026: Yuliia Starodubtseva beat second seed Elena Rybakina in a tense French Open second-round thriller. The upset blows open the women's draw and marks the biggest win of the Ukrainian's career.
The first major shock of the Roland-Garros 2026 women’s draw arrived on Wednesday as second seed Elena Rybakina crashed out in the second round after a dramatic 6-3, 1-6, 6-7 (4-10) defeat to world No. 55 Yuliia Starodubtseva. The Ukrainian, Starodubtseva held her nerve in a tense deciding-set tiebreak to pull off the biggest victory of her career.
French Open: Updates
The result blows open the women’s draw in Paris, with one of the pre-tournament favourites and reigning Australian Open champion, Rybakina departing far earlier than expected.
“Honestly hard to describe. I’m super happy. Elena is one of the top players. She’s had an incredible year. I’m super proud of myself that I was able to do this today,” Starodubtseva said after the match.
26-year-old Starodubtseva recovered from losing the opening set to steadily turn the match around against the Russian-born Kazakh. She capitalised on a growing number of forehand errors from Rybakina and looked increasingly comfortable as the rallies extended on the outdoor clay courts.
Rybakina, however, did not go away quietly. After trailing 0-3 in the deciding set, the second seed clawed her way back into the contest and eventually levelled at 5-5, threatening to snatch momentum away from the Ukrainian.
“It was a hard third set, but I got it done," Starodubtseva added.
Asked about handling the comeback from a multiple Grand Slam champion, Starodubtseva admitted she expected resistance from a player of Rybakina’s calibre.
“I feel like someone like Lena [Elena], I expect it from her. She’s one of the top players. You can’t be thinking it’s gonna be easy today. Even at 3-0 I had a feeling it might not be that easy. Tough match, but happy to be the winner today," she added.
CAREER-DEFINING BREAKTHROUGH
Despite briefly losing conviction on her groundstrokes during Rybakina’s comeback, Starodubtseva rediscovered her composure in the decisive moments. She held serve twice under immense pressure before producing a calm and aggressive display in the 10-point tiebreak, pinning Rybakina deep behind the baseline and forcing more errors from the favourite.
For Starodubtseva, the victory marks a breakthrough moment on the biggest stage of her career. The 26-year-old had never previously beaten a player of Rybakina’s stature at a Grand Slam and now finds herself into the third round in Paris with growing confidence.
For Rybakina, the defeat raises fresh questions about her consistency on clay despite entering the tournament in strong form following her Australian Open triumph and Stuttgart title run. While she showed flashes of her best tennis during the comeback in the third set, untimely errors and struggles to maintain control in longer rallies ultimately proved costly.
The first major shock of the Roland-Garros 2026 women’s draw arrived on Wednesday as second seed Elena Rybakina crashed out in the second round after a dramatic 6-3, 1-6, 6-7 (4-10) defeat to world No. 55 Yuliia Starodubtseva. The Ukrainian, Starodubtseva held her nerve in a tense deciding-set tiebreak to pull off the biggest victory of her career.
French Open: Updates
The result blows open the women’s draw in Paris, with one of the pre-tournament favourites and reigning Australian Open champion, Rybakina departing far earlier than expected.
“Honestly hard to describe. I’m super happy. Elena is one of the top players. She’s had an incredible year. I’m super proud of myself that I was able to do this today,” Starodubtseva said after the match.
26-year-old Starodubtseva recovered from losing the opening set to steadily turn the match around against the Russian-born Kazakh. She capitalised on a growing number of forehand errors from Rybakina and looked increasingly comfortable as the rallies extended on the outdoor clay courts.
Rybakina, however, did not go away quietly. After trailing 0-3 in the deciding set, the second seed clawed her way back into the contest and eventually levelled at 5-5, threatening to snatch momentum away from the Ukrainian.
“It was a hard third set, but I got it done," Starodubtseva added.
Asked about handling the comeback from a multiple Grand Slam champion, Starodubtseva admitted she expected resistance from a player of Rybakina’s calibre.
“I feel like someone like Lena [Elena], I expect it from her. She’s one of the top players. You can’t be thinking it’s gonna be easy today. Even at 3-0 I had a feeling it might not be that easy. Tough match, but happy to be the winner today," she added.
CAREER-DEFINING BREAKTHROUGH
Despite briefly losing conviction on her groundstrokes during Rybakina’s comeback, Starodubtseva rediscovered her composure in the decisive moments. She held serve twice under immense pressure before producing a calm and aggressive display in the 10-point tiebreak, pinning Rybakina deep behind the baseline and forcing more errors from the favourite.
For Starodubtseva, the victory marks a breakthrough moment on the biggest stage of her career. The 26-year-old had never previously beaten a player of Rybakina’s stature at a Grand Slam and now finds herself into the third round in Paris with growing confidence.
For Rybakina, the defeat raises fresh questions about her consistency on clay despite entering the tournament in strong form following her Australian Open triumph and Stuttgart title run. While she showed flashes of her best tennis during the comeback in the third set, untimely errors and struggles to maintain control in longer rallies ultimately proved costly.
