Rybakina’s Wimbledon hopes end as Mertens advances to last 16

Second seed Elena Rybakina’s bid for a second Grand Slam title of the year and a chance to move to world number one ended at Wimbledon on Saturday after she suffered a 7-6(4), 6-1 third-round defeat to Belgium’s Elise Mertens.

The Kazakh player failed to recover after losing a tight first-set tiebreak, as 25th seed Mertens took control of the match to secure her place in the last 16 at Wimbledon for the fourth time.

Rybakina, who won this year’s Australian Open after lifting the Wimbledon title in 2022, needed to reach at least the quarter-finals to keep her hopes alive of overtaking Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the WTA rankings.

However, she delivered a subdued performance on Court One, where Mertens’ variety and consistency proved decisive in only her second win over Rybakina in nine meetings.

The Belgian, a reigning Wimbledon doubles champion, dominated a key spell in the second set by winning nine consecutive points and, despite some late nerves while serving for the match, sealed victory with an ace.

Mertens will next face Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova as she targets her best-ever Wimbledon run.