Elena Rybakina Is OUT of the French Open and Iga Swiatek Fans Should Be Ecstatic

Hold up, did you just see what went down in Paris? Yuliia Starodubtseva, yeah, *that* Yuliia Starodubtseva, just pulled off the upset of the tournament, taking down the No. 2 seed, Elena Rybakina, in a wild 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) thriller at the French Open! This isn't just a win, buddy, this is a seismic shift, blowing up the bracket and leaving everyone absolutely stunned! Rybakina is out, folks, and the whole tournament just got flipped on its head.

Starodubtseva's Unbelievable Upset

Can we talk about what Yuliia Starodubtseva just did? This 26-year-old from Ukraine, who played her college ball at Old Dominion, stared down one of the best players in the game and flat-out beat her. She dropped the first set, 3-6, and you're thinking, "Okay, normal service will resume." NOPE. She bounced back, taking the second set 6-1, and then battled for two hours and twenty-eight minutes in a brutal deciding set that went to a tiebreaker. Starodubtseva grabbed a 3-0 lead early in that third set, but Rybakina, a top player for a reason, fought back to tie it up at 4-4. But then, a series of miscues from Rybakina opened the door, and Starodubtseva just wouldn't let up, pulling away to a 6-2 lead in the tiebreaker before sealing the deal. Her words after the match sum it up perfectly: "Honestly hard to describe. I'm super happy. Elena is one of the top players. She's had an incredible year. I'm super proud of myself that I was able to do this today." What a moment for her, right? This is Rybakina's first second-round French Open loss since 2020. That's how big this is.

Swiatek's Path Just Got Clearer

Now, let's talk about what Rybakina's shocking exit means for the rest of the field, especially Iga Swiatek. You better believe the third-seeded Polish superstar is feeling good about this one. Rybakina's departure goes a long way toward clearing the path for Swiatek's bid to win her fifth French Open title in the past seven years. That's a dynasty in the making, and this just made it a whole lot easier. Swiatek, for her part, looked completely in control, breezing past Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 victory. She broke Bejlek seven times in a quick 91-minute match, showing exactly why she's a favorite. Swiatek even noted, "It was a tricky match in terms of the rhythm, because Sara plays differently than most of the players. But I'm happy with the way I adjusted and how I was making decisions, because sometimes, yeah, it was not so obvious when to go and attack and stay back. But at the end I felt it pretty good." She’s locked in, folks. So, what are we looking at? The French Open just got spicy! Starodubtseva is riding high after the biggest win of her career, and the stage is set for Iga Swiatek to potentially make even more history. This tournament is just getting started, and you know we'll be glued to every single match to see how this unfolds!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.