Elena Rybakina’s Roland Garros campaign came to a stunning conclusion on Wednesday afternoon.
Yuliia Starodubtseva defeated Rybakina 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, on Court Suzanne Lenglen, ending the Kazakh’s hopes of winning a second consecutive Grand Slam title.
It was a very poor performance by the two-time major champion, who struck over 70 unforced errors during the second-round contest.
Will Elena Rybakina win another Grand Slam this year? 💭
Rybakina will now turn her attention towards the grass-court swing – a period in the tennis calendar during which she has achieved success in the past.
While Wednesday’s loss to Starodubtseva will certainly represent a disappointing moment for Rybakina, the Kazakh should place little stock in such a defeat when considering her history on the Roland Garros clay.
Elena Rybakina has achieved Wimbledon success after struggling at Roland Garros
Throughout her career, Elena Rybakina has endured a plethora of early exits at Roland Garros.
The Kazakh has qualified for the quarter-finals just twice in eight appearances, and has suffered multiple defeats before the third round.
Elena Rybakina’s record in Paris
- 2019 – First round
- 2020 – Second round
- 2021 – Quarter-finals
- 2022 – Third round
- 2023 – Third round
- 2024 – Quarter-finals
- 2025 – Fourth round
- 2026 – Second round
Moreover, Rybakina has suffered early Roland Garros exits in the past, before going on to achieve Grand Slam success.
In 2022, Rybakina was defeated by Madison Keys in the French Open third round.
A little over a month later, Rybakina won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, defeating Ons Jabeur in the final.
A year later, Rybakina was forced to withdraw from Roland Garros ahead of her third-round contest against Sara Sorribes Tormo.
The Kazakh again went on to enjoy a successful Wimbledon campaign, reaching the quarter-final stage.
Rybakina has proven time and again that she is much more comfortable on the grass, than she is on the clay; and one would not be surprised if the 27-year-old finds herself lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish later this summer.
What did Elena Rybakina say after winning Wimbledon in 2022?
Elena Rybakina was certainly an outsider for the title ahead of her third Wimbledon campaign.
The 17th seed defied the odds, and began the event by defeating Coco Vandeweghe, Bianca Andreescu, Qinwen Zheng and Petra Martic.
She then knocked out Alja Tomljanovic in three sets, before beating former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep, 6-3, 6-3.
Who wins more Grand Slams in their career – Elena Rybakina or Aryna Sabalenka?
In the final, Rybakina fought from a set down to beat third seed Ons Jabeur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
“I was super nervous,” Rybakina said after securing the title, as per the WTA.
“Yesterday I had a good practice. But in evening I already started to feel like I’m too nervous. In the morning also.
“But I was just trying to tell myself that it’s a match and I already had experience. I mean, for me the worse thing is if you’re up, then you lose the match.
“Unfortunately I had many matches like this, so maybe it helped me a bit.
“I was trying to convince myself that it might happen again, and hopefully it’s not the last time I’m in the final. Not the first; not the last. I already did a great job with my team.
“With these kind of words I was trying to calm myself down.”
