Rybakina, highest-profile exit of tournament, Swiatek and Djokovic battled tuff conditions
- Iga Swiatek defeated Sara Bejlek 6-2, 6-3 to reach the third round
- Novak Djokovic beat Valentin Royer 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(7), 6-3
- Elena Rybakina lost to Yuliia Starodubtseva 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4)
- Rybakina committed 71 unforced errors during the upset defeat
Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic continued their progress at Roland Garros on Wednesday, while Elena Rybakina suffered a shock second-round exit at the French Open amid difficult heatwave conditions in Paris.
Four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek defeated Czech teenager Sara Bejlek 6-2, 6-3 on Court Philippe-Chatrier to reach the third round.
Although Swiatek controlled most of the match, the Polish star committed 38 unforced errors during an uneven display in windy conditions.
According to Reuters, Swiatek said after the match, “I made some mistakes that weren’t really necessary, but I still felt like I had the match under control.”
Swiatek has now lost only two matches at Roland Garros since 2020 and remains among the favourites for the title despite a less dominant clay season compared to previous years.
Novak Djokovic also advanced, but the Serbian was forced to battle hard before defeating French wildcard Valentin Royer 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(7), 6-3 in the night session.
Djokovic appeared to be cruising toward a straight-sets victory before Royer saved a match point during the third-set tiebreak and extended the contest in front of a vocal home crowd inside Philippe-Chatrier.
X
The Serbian eventually regained control in the fourth set to remain on course for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title.
According to Reuters, Djokovic praised Royer’s fearless performance after the match. “He deserved the applause tonight. He played really brave tennis.”
The biggest upset of the day came when world number two Elena Rybakina was knocked out by Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva in a dramatic three-set encounter.
Starodubtseva recovered from a set down to win 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4), earning the first top-five victory of her career.
Rybakina, who entered Roland Garros with a tour-leading 31 match wins in 2026, struggled badly with consistency and finished the contest with 71 unforced errors.
According to Reuters, Rybakina admitted she never found her rhythm. “I was not feeling really great on court… too many mistakes.”
Starodubtseva described the victory as the biggest moment of her career. According to Reuters, the Ukrainian said after the match, “This is probably the best win of my life.”
Elsewhere, Alexander Zverev defeated Tomáš Macháč in straight sets, while teenage Russian star Mirra Andreeva recovered from a set down to beat Marina Bassols Ribera 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
