Second seed Elena Rybakina’s pursuit of a second Grand Slam title this year and a chance to claim the world number one ranking came to an end at Wimbledon on Saturday. She was defeated 7-6(4), 6-1 in the third round by Belgium’s Elise Mertens.
Rybakina struggled to recover after narrowly losing the first-set tiebreak, allowing the 25th seed Mertens to take command of the match. This victory secured Mertens a spot in the Wimbledon last 16 for the fourth time in her career.
Having won the Australian Open earlier this year and the Wimbledon title in 2022, Rybakina needed to reach at least the quarter-finals to maintain her chances of surpassing Aryna Sabalenka atop the WTA rankings. However, her performance on Court One was lackluster, as Mertens’ tactical variety and steady play proved decisive.
This marked only Mertens’ second win against Rybakina in nine encounters. The Belgian, who is also the reigning Wimbledon doubles champion, dominated a crucial phase in the second set by winning nine consecutive points. Despite some nerves while serving for the match, she ultimately closed it out with an ace.
In a significant development, Mertens will face Czech player Marie Bouzkova in the next round as she aims to achieve her best-ever Wimbledon result.
