Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina suffered a shock third-round exit in a 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 defeat against Elise Mertens on Saturday.
Rybakina was hoping to follow her Australian Open triumph in January by winning Wimbledon for the second time.
But the world number two was unable to emulate her 2022 victory at the All England Club as Belgian 25th seed Mertens produced a major upset on Court One.
Rybakina, 27, also endured a disappointing early departure from the recent French Open, losing to Yuliia Starodubtseva in the second round.
The Russia-born Kazakhstani, who beat Ons Jabeur to win Wimbledon four years ago, has failed to make it past the third round on her last two visits to south-west London.
Mertens is a two-time Wimbledon doubles champion and has now reached the last 16 in the All England Club singles on four occasions.
She will play Czech 21st seed Marie Bouzkova for a place in the quarter-finals.
The 30-year-old’s best run in a Grand Slam singles tournament is a 2018 Australian Open semi-final appearance.
AFP
