Rybakina Out in Biggest French Open Upset So Far

Paris — World number two Elena Rybakina suffered a shocking second-round defeat at the 2026 French Open, falling to Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva in the biggest upset of the tournament so far.Starodubtseva, ranked 55th, staged an impressive comeback to defeat the two-time Grand Slam champion 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-4).Rybakina, the reigning Australian Open champion, won the first set comfortably but unraveled thereafter. She committed 71 unforced errors and landed just 53% of her first serves.

Despite fighting back from a double break down in the deciding set, she lost the tie-break 10-4.It marks Rybakina’s earliest exit from Roland Garros since 2020 and her earliest Grand Slam exit since the 2024 Australian Open.The loss also ensures Aryna Sabalenka will remain world number one after the tournament, as Rybakina needed to reach the semi-finals to have a chance of overtaking her.Speaking after the match, Rybakina said:

“It’s just a pity, because I think I was practising well before the French Open. Today it was a very bad performance with too many unforced errors.”She added that while the mid-30s Celsius heat made conditions difficult, it was not the main reason for her poor performance.Starodubtseva produced a fearless performance, playing aggressively throughout. This is her second consecutive French Open upset — she also defeated 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini in the second round last year.“I’m super happy,” Starodubtseva said. “Elena is one of the top players, she’s had an incredible year and I’m super proud of myself that I was able to do this.”Starodubtseva will face China’s Xiyu Wang in the third round.


Reaction & Context

The defeat is a major blow for Rybakina, who had been considered one of the title favourites in Paris. Starodubtseva’s victory is the standout result of the tournament to date. 


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