Elena Rybakina‘s clay-court season came to a shocking end in the second round of the French Open. She was handed a 6-3, 1-6, 6-7 defeat by Yuliia Starodubtseva in two hours and 28 minutes. Despite starting the match on a strong note, Rybakina underperformed in the second set and then had a poor start to the decider. Seeing the Kazakh struggle on the court, her coach, Stefano Vukov, decided to make a surprising move.

Instead of giving Rybakina tactical advice or some words of encouragement, Vukov decided to leave the player’s box and didn’t return. Many in the stands were left shocked by this, as the match was still not lost, and Rybakina even made a remarkable comeback in the second set after being 0-3 down at one stage. However, Vukov appeared to have lost faith in her as he didn’t return to the court even after the match concluded.

Though Starodubtseva looked to be in charge after taking an early lead in the third set, Rybakina fought back brilliantly to level up at 4-4. The set would eventually go into a tiebreaker, where the Ukrainian put in a sensational effort and clinched it 10-4 to advance into the third round of the French Open.

While it was a dream victory for Starodubtseva, a big reason behind the result was the massive number of unforced errors that Rybakina committed throughout the encounter. The World No. 2 finished the match with a total of 71 unforced errors, handing Starodubtseva her first-ever win against a top 10 opponent.

Notably, this is the earliest that a No. 2 seed has lost at Roland Garros since Barbora Krejčíková’s first-round elimination in the 2022 edition of the Grand Slam. This is also Rybakina’s earliest exit from a WTA event since the 2025 Miami Open, where she had been handed a second-round defeat by Ashlyn Krueger.

Having clinched the title at the Australian Open earlier this year, the early elimination from the Roland Garros will definitely be a major disappointment for Rybakina. Before the tournament, it was expected that she would make it to the later stages of the Grand Slam, but instead, she has faltered at just the second hurdle.

This defeat continues a pattern of disappointing exits for Rybakina at the French Open. This is the slam where she hasn’t been great over the years, and her best results are quarterfinal appearances in the 2021 and 2024 editions. This was the first time that the two had faced each other in a tour-level match, and it was Starodubtseva who managed to cause a major upset.

If the defeat wasn’t already shocking enough, Vukov’s behavior raised even more questions. Many were left baffled by his decision to leave Rybakina hanging in such an important match where she could have used his advice. However, the Kazakh decided to defend her coach over the move after the match.

Elena Rybakina reveals why Stefano Vukov left mid-match

When asked about Vukov leaving the player’s box mid-match, Rybakina revealed that he left because he wasn’t feeling well at all.

“Why am I surprised that these questions are coming from you? Yes, he was on the match. He left because he was feeling really bad the past few days. He told me ‘I might leave. I tried to stay.’ He wasn’t feeling great. It wasn’t a surprise. We talked about it. Nothing from that side,” she said during the post-match press conference.

Reflecting on the defeat, Rybakina remarked that she didn’t play at her best and rued the massive number of unforced errors that she committed during the match.

“They were just trying to tell me to raise my energy. Try to push more with the legs since the ball is flying so much. Even on simple balls that you feel are not coming so fast, the ball bounces so high that you need to really force the wrist. You need to play with fast hands. Today, it was not enough from my side. Even when I wasn’t really attacking the ball, I was trying to keep it in play. I had too many mistakes,” she added.

This isn’t the first time that Vukov has come under scrutiny as Rybakina’s coach. He had previously been provisionally suspended by the WTA for a year in January of 2025 after being found guilty of verbal abuse and abuse of authority towards Rybakina. Despite the stunning accusations against Vukov, the World No. 2 had decided to defend him. He successfully appealed the decision and was cleared by the WTA to return to the tour in August, 2025.

The pair reconciled after he was cleared of all the accusations, but Vukov has continued to remain a controversial figure in the tennis world ever since the whole episode.