Paris (France) (AFP) - Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina suffered a shock early exit in the French Open second round on Wednesday at the hands of unseeded Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva.

The Kazakh world number two blew a one-set lead in dramatic fashion at Roland Garros, slumping to a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (¹⁰⁄₄) loss.

“Honestly, hard to describe, I’m super happy,” said world number 55 Starodubtseva after beating a top-10 opponent for the first time in her career.

“I’m super proud of myself that I was able to do this today. It was a tricky third set but I got it done in the end.”

It is Rybakina’s earliest exit from any WTA tournament since the 2025 Miami Open and first defeat in the opening two rounds of a major since the 2024 Australian Open.

“Just (a) pity, because I think I was practising well before French Open, and I was feeling also good in the practices and thought that I can raise the level,” she said.

“But actually today it was a very bad performance, too many unforced errors.”

Starodubtseva will face China’s Wang Xiyu for a place in the last 16.

She has already matched her previous best run at a Grand Slam event, when she lost to Jasmine Paolini in the French Open third round as a lucky loser 12 months ago.

Rybakina started strongly on a sweltering Court Suzanne Lenglen, easing into a 5-1 lead before wrapping up the opening set.

But her game quickly unravelled as an inspired Starodubtseva reeled off the first five games of the second en route to taking the set.

Her coach Stefano Vukov left the court mid-match and never returned, but Rybakina said that was due to illness and not her drop in fortunes.

Vukov was banned last year after the WTA ruled he had engaged in “abuse of authority and abusive behaviour” towards Rybakina, before returning after successfully appealing against his suspension.

“He was not feeling great, and it was not a surprise. We talked about it. So nothing from that side,” said Rybakina of Vukov’s exit.

Rybakina was on the ropes as she quickly lost the opening three games of the decider to slip a double-break behind.

She dug deep, though, to get a break back and then stave off two break points to cut the gap to 3-2.

Another Rybakina break followed just as the clock reached the two-hour mark, bringing the third set level at 4-4.

Starodubtseva regrouped just when she looked to be wilting, doggedly holding serve in the 12th game to force a breaker.

The deciding tie-break started with a Rybakina double fault, and Starodubtseva wasted little time in stretching 6-2 in front.

She completed the biggest win of her career on her second match point when Rybakina sent a forehand flying wide.

“You can’t be thinking it will be easy, even at 3-0 (in the third set), I was thinking this might still not be easy,” said Starodubtseva.