Two of the top three seeds in the Wimbledon women’s singles tournament, including the defending champion, were eliminated after No. 2 Elena Rybakina and No. 3 Iga Świętek lost in straight sets on Saturday.
Belgium’s Elise Mertens defeated Rybakina 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 to advance to the fourth round for the second consecutive year and third time since 2022. Rybakina, the 2022 singles champion, has now been eliminated in the third round of Wimbledon for the second year in a row.
Heading into Saturday’s matchup, Rybakina held a 7-1 lifetime advantage over Mertens in single play. The last time the two faced off was in the fourth round of the Australian Open in January, where Rybakina won in straight sets, giving Mertens her sixth straight victory.
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After needing a tiebreak in the first set, Mertens gave his opponent no chance to take the second set. The Belgian, who has yet to advance beyond the fourth round in her Wimbledon singles career, won a battle of break points and serve points as Rybakina struggled with unforced errors throughout the match.
Immediately after Rybakina fell, Swientek, who defeated Amanda Anisimova in last year’s final, suffered her second loss in three tournaments to 21-year-old Alex Ila of the Philippines, 7-6 (11-9), 6-2.
Swientek suffered five double faults and a break point, and committed 44 unforced errors.
Aira, the first Filipino player to reach the third round of a Grand Slam tournament in the Open era, defeated Swientek in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open in March 2025.
Mertens will face No. 21 Marie Bouzkova, while Eara will face No. 13 Jasmine Paolini, with both matches taking place on Monday.
