Rybakina's Early Exit and Korpatsch-Wang Handshake Spat Mark French Open Drama

PARIS — The French Open delivered high drama on Wednesday as Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina was knocked out in the second round by unseeded Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva, while a separate match saw tempers flare between Tamara Korpatsch and Wang Xinyu over a disputed line call.

Rybakina Falls to Starodubtseva

World number two Rybakina, the second seed at Roland Garros, blew a one-set lead to lose 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10/4) to world number 55 Starodubtseva. The Kazakh star made 71 unforced errors in a match where she struggled to find her rhythm on the sweltering Court Suzanne Lenglen.

"Honestly, hard to describe, I'm super happy," said Starodubtseva, who secured her first career victory over a top-10 opponent. "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."

The match swung wildly. Rybakina eased to a 5-1 lead and wrapped up the opening set, but Starodubtseva reeled off the first five games of the second set to force a decider. Rybakina fell behind a double-break early in the third before fighting back to level at 4-4, only to lose the tie-break after starting it with a double fault.

According to ABC Australia, it was Rybakina's earliest exit from any WTA tournament since the 2025 Miami Open and her first defeat in the opening two rounds of a major since the 2024 Australian Open. Starodubtseva will next face either American 26th seed Hailey Baptiste or China's Wang Xiyu for a place in the last 16.

The win matches Starodubtseva's previous best Grand Slam run, when she reached the third round at the French Open 12 months ago as a lucky loser before losing to Jasmine Paolini.

Korpatsch and Wang in Heated Exchange

In a separate match on court seven, Tamara Korpatsch defeated 32nd-seeded Wang Xinyu 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, but the result was overshadowed by a post-match handshake snub.

The dispute arose late in the opening set when Wang hit a shot she believed landed inside the baseline. Korpatsch pointed to a ball mark outside the court, and Wang crossed the net to inspect it on her opponent's side. Chair umpire Aurelie Tourte issued Wang a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Korpatsch, who did not offer her hand at the net after the match, explained her decision, saying, "I can't say I'll gift her the point. I'm a bit surprised, because we have a good relationship, we're not enemies. I didn't offer her my hand because that's not fair for me. She was unfair to come on my side, and I'm not an unfair player."

The tension lingered through the remainder of the match, with both players visibly upset by the exchange.

Other Results

In other action, Iga Świątek defeated Sara Bejlek 6-2, 6-3, and Elina Svitolina beat Kaitlin Quevedo 6-0, 6-4, according to ABC Australia's coverage.

Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva also appeared to be in action, though details of her match were not included in the available reports.