Rybakina suffers shock defeat at Roland Garros

World No. 2 Rybakina lost to Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine, who is ranked 55th in the WTA standings.

Following the surprising 6:3, 1:6, 6:7 defeat, Rybakina told reporters that a large number of unforced errors played a key role in the loss.

“I think I trained well ahead of Roland Garros. I felt good in practice and believed I could raise my level. But today was a very poor performance with too many unforced errors. I wasn’t feeling my best. I tried, but it just didn’t work out. Even on balls that don’t seem to come very fast, the bounce is so high that you really have to work your wrist a lot. You need quick hands. Today I simply didn’t have enough energy. Even when I wasn’t attacking, I was just trying to keep the ball in play. I made far too many mistakes,” Rybakina said after the match.

She also said that her coach, Stefano Vukov, left the match early due to health issues.

“It wasn’t a surprise — we had discussed how he was feeling. Nothing serious. He was trying to give me advice, especially to bring more energy and improve my footwork,” the tennis player said.

Rybakina did not blame the intense heat in Paris for the defeat.

“I can’t say I felt bad because of the heat. I just couldn’t find the right balance. Because of poor grip, I was losing rhythm at times,” she concluded.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that  Kazakhstan’s second-ranked tennis player, Yulia Putintseva, has ended her campaign in the doubles event at the 2026 French Openю