Wimbledon 2026: Elise Mertens Ends Rybakina’s Wimbledon Run

Rybakina’s Wimbledon hopes over as Mertens delivers major upset

Belgian 25th seed Elise Mertens knocked out former Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina to book a fourth-round clash with Marie Bouzkova.

Mertens ousts Rybakina 7-6, 6-1 in Wimbledon third-round shocker...

Former Wimbledon champ Elena Rybakina crashed out in the third round on Saturday, falling 7-6(4), 6-1 to Elise Mertens in a major upset.

Rybakina came into SW19 looking to add a second Wimbledon title to go with her Australian Open win back in January.

The world No. 2 couldn’t recreate her 2022 magic at the All England Club. Belgian No. 25 seed Mertens pulled off the upset on Court 1 to send Rybakina packing.

It’s been a rough Slam season for the 27-year-old. Rybakina also bowed out early at Roland Garros, losing to Yuliia Starodubtseva in round two.

 

The Russia-born Kazakh won Wimbledon in 2022 by beating Ons Jabeur. Since then it’s been a struggle in south-west London — she hasn’t made it past the third round in her last two appearances.

Despite the loss, Rybakina isn’t letting it derail her. She’s determined not to let this Wimbledon exit define the rest of her season.

“I just try to move on. I mean, I lost so many times. I'm sure I'm still going to keep losing. It's impossible to win everything,” she said.

“Not the result I wanted today. Definitely not happy. I'm of course upset, but it's not going to take more than one, two days.”

Rybakina says she’ll take a close look at her game before the hard-court season kicks off, with the US Open as the big target.

“If I knew why, I wouldn't be in this situation right now. As soon as it happened a couple weeks ago when I was not playing my best, honestly, I don't know,” she said.

“I was getting a lot of opportunities since I was losing early in the tournaments. Definitely I need to analyse and change something, because it's not working.

"Now it's going to be at least for a longer period of time same surface, and it's kind of one of the last pushes of the year.

“First, I'm looking forward to change a little bit the scenario and just rest.”

Mertens already owns two Wimbledon doubles titles, and now she’s into the fourth round in singles at the All England Club for the fourth time in her career.

Next up for her is Czech No. 21 seed Marie Bouzkova, with a quarter-final spot on the line.

Elise excellence 🤩

No.25 seed Mertens defeats No.2 seed Rybakina to claim her first career Top 10 win on grass 🇧🇪#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/kmXlE2XDNZ

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 4, 2026

The 30-year-old Belgian’s best Grand Slam singles result so far came at the 2018 Australian Open, where she made it all the way to the semis.

“Definitely one of my most memorable wins, especially against her here at Wimbledon,” Mertens said. “Looking back on my previous results on grass this year, it was a little bit of a mixed feelings.

“I really grew into the match. Also especially my last match, also grew into that match. That gave me a little bit of confidence.

“I soaked it all in today on Court One. It's a beautiful court to play at.”