Defending champion Iga Swiatek followed second seed Elena Rybakina out of the door at Wimbledon on a day of upsets on Saturday.
Third seed Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, fell 7-6 (11-9) 6-2 to highly rated Filipina Alexandra Eala in an enthralling third-round match on Centre Court.
That came an hour after 2022 champion Elena Rybakina was beaten 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 in the third round by Belgium’s Elise Mertens.
Rybakina’s loss means Aryna Sabalenka will remain as the women’s world number one, regardless of how deep into the tournament the Belarusian goes.
Her defeat is arguably more shocking than Swiatek’s, who has had a difficult run of form since winning Wimbledon last year.
She had a shaky start to her title defence, ending up in tears after coming through a tight three-set opening match against Taylor Townsend.
But this match against Eala – who had her breakthrough moment with victory over Swiatek at the 2025 Miami Open – always had the potential to wrongfoot the defending champion.
Eala threw herself to the ground and covered her face with her hands after saving four break points before converting her third match point in a lengthy final game.
Swiatek’s defeat means no woman has successfully defended the singles title at Wimbledon since Serena Williams in 2016.
Last year’s beaten finalist Amanda Anisimova also fell 3-6 6-2 6-3 to fellow American and former Australian Open champion Madison Keys later on Saturday.
A tearful Anisimova said afterwards it was “really hard to see a silver lining” after struggling for form in an injury-disrupted year.
“For me, it wasn’t enjoyable to play today with my tennis being like that,” said the 24-year-old.
“I feel like I’m doing everything I can and working really hard. So for my game to still be at this point, it’s really hard to take.”
Source:
www.bbc.co.uk
