Elena Rybakina‘s clay-court season came to a shocking end in the second round of the French Open. She was handed a 6-3, 1-6, 6-7 defeat by Yuliia Starodubtseva in two hours and 28 minutes. Despite starting the match on a strong note, Rybakina underperformed in the second set and then had a poor start to the decider. Seeing the Kazakh struggle on the court, her coach, Stefano Vukov, decided to make a surprising move.

Instead of giving Rybakina tactical advice or some words of encouragement, Vukov decided to leave the player’s box and didn’t return. Many in the stands were left shocked by this, as the match was still not lost, and Rybakina even made a remarkable comeback in the second set after being 0-3 down at one stage. However, Vukov appeared to have lost faith in her as he didn’t return to the court even after the match concluded.

Though Starodubtseva looked to be in charge after taking an early lead in the third set, Rybakina fought back brilliantly to level up at 4-4. The set would eventually go into a tiebreaker, where the Ukrainian put in a sensational effort and clinched it 10-4 to advance into the third round of the French Open.

While it was a dream victory for Starodubtseva, a big reason behind the result was the massive number of unforced errors that Rybakina committed throughout the encounter. The World No. 2 finished the match with a total of 71 unforced errors, handing Starodubtseva her first-ever win against a top 10 opponent.

Notably, this is the earliest that a No. 2 seed has lost at Roland Garros since Barbora Krejčíková’s first-round elimination in the 2022 edition of the Grand Slam. This is also Rybakina’s earliest exit from a WTA event since the 2025 Miami Open, where she had been handed a first-round defeat by Ashlyn Krueger.

Having clinched the title at the Australian Open earlier this year, the early elimination from the Roland Garros will definitely be a major disappointment for Rybakina. Before the tournament, it was expected that she would make it to the later stages of the Grand Slam, but instead, she has faltered at just the second hurdle.

This defeat continues a pattern of disappointing exits for Rybakina at the French Open. This is the slam where she hasn’t been great over the years, and her best results are quarterfinal appearances in the 2021 and 2024 editions.