Starodubtseva stuns Rybakina in big upset at French Open

Abayomi Ademola

Unseeded Ukrainian player Yuliia Starodubtseva produced one of the biggest upsets of the French Open after defeating Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina in a dramatic second-round clash at Roland Garros on Wednesday. The world number 55 came back from a set down to secure a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10/4) victory and record the biggest win of her career.

“Honestly, it’s hard to describe, I’m super happy,” Starodubtseva said after beating a top-10 opponent for the first time in her career. “I’m very proud of myself for being able to do this today. It was a tough third set, but I did it in the end.”

Rybakina appeared to be in complete control early in the match after taking a 5-1 lead before comfortably taking the first set. However, the momentum changed dramatically in the second set as Starodubtseva won the first five games to force a decider. The Kazakh star fought back from a double-break deficit in the third set to level at 4-4, but Starodubtseva held her nerve in the decisive tie-break after Rybakina opened with a costly double fault.

“You can’t think it will be easy, even at 3-0 (in the third set), I thought maybe it wouldn’t be easy,” Starodubtseva said. The Ukrainian has now equaled her best Grand Slam streak and will next face Hailey Baptiste or Wang Xiyu for a place in the round of 16 at Roland Garros.