Elena Rybakina started her French Open campaign on a strong note. Till the quarterfinals, she won all her matches in straight sets, making her one of the favorites to claim the title. However, the Wimbledon Open champion’s hopes were crushed in the quarter-finals, as she suffered an upset at the hands of the Italian Jasmine Paolini.  And the veteran tennis legend, Martina Navratilova didn’t let the moment slide as she took a dig at World No.3 for the lost opportunity.

The Kazakh player had a slow start to the quarterfinal match. The Italian tennis star comfortably took the first set with 6-2, as Rybakina struggled to find her rhythm. However, the World No. 4 was able to salvage the match by claiming 2nd set with 4-6. But that did not allay the worries of her fans, as Paolini didn’t give her opponent any breathing space. And the efforts of the World No.33 paid off in the 3rd set. She put a stop to the top-seeded player with 6-4.

As tennis fans witnessed Rybakina struggling through the quarterfinals, Navratilova expressed her thoughts on the Tennis Channel. And the tennis legend was certainly not impressed by the Kazakh’s effort in the match. She said, “Rybakina is as flat as a pancake… or a crepe,” as Rybakina suffered a huge upset. 

It was the biggest upset of the tournament by a player who has never progressed beyond the second round at a grand slam. Rybakina seemed a bit off her game as she hit 48 unforced errors, 32 of those coming from her forehand.

Either way, the Italian has secured her place in the semifinals, although many were hoping for a showdown of the top 4 women’s players in the semi-finals. And for Rybakina to break Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek’s duopoly. But this quarterfinal results belied those hopes. 

Elena Rybakina falls short of breaking the duopoly of the top 2 players

When Rybakina was questioned about her preparations to take the top spot in the women’s tennis, the Kazakh player was in a dilemma as she pointed toward her previous failed attempt against the top players on the list. She said, “It depends also on other players at the end of the day. Trying to um to be solid in these key moments…And uh every time I play against Aryna, Iga it’s really just a difference between a couple of points. It’s always tough matches and they’re doing amazing also so it’s in then just competition.”

Certainly, there is no easy path to the zenith. However, these couple of points have been tough for World No. 4 as she works towards adding another Grand Slam to her list.

Do you think Elena Rybakina can achieve the top spot anytime soon? Do let us know in the comments!