Wimbledon shockers: Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek upset in third round

Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina was knocked out of the tournament in the third round on July 4 after being upset by Elise Mertens.

Rybakina, who won the Wimbledon women’s singles title in 2022 and the Australian Open in January, was seeded second in this tournament and lost 7-6 (4) 6-1 on Court No 1.

As a result, Aryna Sabalenka will keep her No. 1 ranking no matter how she fares in the tournament.

Mertens, the No. 25 seed from Belgium, broke a six-match losing streak against Rybakina and will face Naomi Osaka in the fourth round on Sunday.

This marks the second consecutive early exit for Rybakina in a Grand Slam tournament, as she lost in the second round at the French Open to unseeded Yuliia Starodubtseva 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4).

Mertens is a three-time Grand Slam doubles winner, taking the Australian Open title with Zhang Shuai, and is the reigning Wimbledon doubles champion, partnering with Veronika Kudermetova of Russia.

The defending women’s champion, Iga Swiatek, will also be going home early as she was beaten in the third round by 21-year-old Alexandra Eala 7-6 (9), 6-2 on Centre Court.

Eala is the first tennis player from the Philippines, male or female, to make it to the fourth round of any Grand Slam singles tournament. Eala will next take on Jasmine Paolini in the round of 16.

Swiatek won her first Wimbledon crown last year with a 6-0, 6-0 thumping of Amanda Anisimova in the final. When the new WTA rankings are released after this year’s tournament, Swiatek will drop out of the top 10 for the first time since May 2021. Eala will climb into the top 30 with her victory over the six-time Grand Slam winner.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wimbledon shockers: Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek upset in third round