Elena Rybakina's world No 1 bid dealt huge setback by shock French Open defeat

World No 55 Starodubtseva defeated second seed Rybakina 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) on Court Suzanne-Lenglen to claim the biggest upset of the tournament so far.

Following her first-ever win against a top 10 player, the 26-year-old Ukrainian said: "Honestly, hard to describe (the feeling). I'm super happy.

"Elena is one of the top players, she has (had) an incredible year. And I'm super proud of myself I was able to do this today."

Rybakina committed 71 unforced errors as she toiled in the soaring Paris heat, and she has lost an opportunity to become world No 1 for the first time in her career.

The 26-year-old Kazakh started the French Open on 8,313 points in the WTA Rankings, which dropped to 8,083 points in the Live Rankings after she lost the points from her 2025 fourth round result.

Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1, had 9,960 points in the latest WTA Rankings, which fell to 8,670 after she dropped the points from her Roland Garros runner-up finish last year.

There was, therefore, a gap of 587 points between Sabalenka and Rybakina before they played their first round matches in Paris.

Sabalenka has moved onto 8,730 points after winning her opening match against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2.

Rybakina increased her tally to 8,143 after beating Veronika Erjavec in her first round match, and she will remain on this number following her second round exit.

The two-time Grand Slam champion needed to reach at least the semi-finals of the French Open to have any chance of usurping Sabalenka at the top of the rankings.

If Sabalenka wins her maiden Roland Garros title, she will soar to 10,660 points, which would put her a massive 2,517 points ahead of Rybakina.

Rybakina's loss has also opened up the possibility of her being overtaken by world No 3 Iga Swiatek.

Swiatek, a four-time Roland Garros champion, currently sits on 6,623 points in the Live Rankings, but she would have 8,493 and move above Rybakina into second position if she were to lift the trophy.

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