Elena Rybakina’s horrid run of form continued on Saturday afternoon.
The Kazakhstani star was dumped out of Wimbledon in the third round by 25th seed Elise Mertens, losing 7-6, 6-1 on Court One.
It was a truly poor performance by the second seed, as she landed only 42 per cent of her first serves and hit six double faults en route to defeat.
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This defeat is perhaps not as surprising as many would anticipate.
Rybakina had struggled to locate her best form heading into Wimbledon, suffering multiple early exits in the lead up to the major event.
This is also not the first time Rybakina’s form has deserted her prior to a Grand Slam.
Elena Rybakina’s sporadic form is a concern
Elena Rybakina is quickly becoming one of the most streaky, ‘hot and cold’ players on the WTA Tour.
The Kazakhstani is a supreme talent – an individual who is capable of lighting up a tennis court on any given day.
However, these moments are few and far between.
The 2022 Wimbledon major champion performed inconsistently throughout last year, enduring losses to the likes of Ashlyn Krueger, Bianca Andreescu, and Liudmilla Samsonova.
She then clicked into gear, going on a tear to end the 2025 season. The Kazakhstani won her last 11 matches of the 2025 campaign, winning the Ningbo Open and WTA Finals.
She carried the excellent form into this year, winning her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
However, as was the case in 2025, Rybakina has entered a period of patchy form.
Rybakina has failed to impress over the past month, failing to advance past the quarter-finals in any of her last four events.
Elena Rybakina’s results since May
- French Open: lost in the second round to Yuliia Starodubtseva
- Queen’s: lost in the quarter-finals [second match] to Katie Boulter
- Berlin Open: lost her first match to Alexandra Eala
- Wimbledon: lost in the third round to Elise Mertens
Rybakina was asked about her inconsistent form over the past six weeks while speaking to reporters in London on Saturday afternoon.
“Well, if I knew, I would not be in this situation right now,” Rybakina said when asked why her form has dipped. “As soon as it happened a couple weeks ago when I was not playing my best, honestly I don’t know.
“I’ve been working well I think in the past weeks. I was getting a lot of opportunities since I was losing early in the tournaments.
“I definitely need to analyze and change something because it’s not working.”
Elena Rybakina’s 2025 Wimbledon performance
Rybakina will not lose or gain any WTA ranking points after losing in the third round on Saturday.
This is because she also reached the third round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
Last year, the then-26-year-old defeated Elina Awanesyan and Maria Sakkari before losing to Clara Tauson in straight sets.
“I think it was very close,” Rybakina told reporters in London afterwards. “Before the rain and after we came back on the court, I had chances to win the first set also, but again, it was too many unforced errors from my side.
“The serve was not there at all, and it’s very difficult for me to play, of course, without the serve.
“She played well. I think she adjusted to conditions a bit better with the serve and also some slices from her side.
“So it’s tough to comment when I know it was too many mistakes from my side and very bad decision in some moments.”
