In a dramatic day at the All England Club, top seeds Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina were both eliminated from Wimbledon in stunning upsets on Thursday. Unseeded players Alex Eala of the Philippines and Belgium's Elise Mertens pulled off remarkable victories, shaking up the women's singles draw.
Eala Defeats Swiatek in Straight Sets
Alex Eala, ranked 124th in the world, produced the biggest win of her career by defeating world number one Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 on Centre Court. The 19-year-old qualifier, who had never previously advanced past the second round of a Grand Slam, broke Swiatek's serve four times and committed only 15 unforced errors to the Polish star's 28.
According to tournament statistics, Eala's victory marked the first time a qualifier had beaten the top seed at Wimbledon since 1999. Swiatek, who had won three of the last five Grand Slams, struggled with her first-serve percentage, landing just 58% compared to Eala's 72%.
Mertens Overcomes Rybakina in Three Sets
Meanwhile, Elise Mertens, the 33rd-ranked Belgian, fought back from a set down to defeat third seed Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Court One. Mertens, a former world number 12, used her powerful groundstrokes to overpower Rybakina, who had won Wimbledon in 2022 and reached the final last year.
Mertens said after the match, according to the BBC: "I knew I had to be aggressive and take my chances. Elena is a champion, but I believed in my game today." The match lasted two hours and 14 minutes, with Mertens winning 78% of points on her first serve.
Impact on the Draw
The upsets open up the women's draw significantly, with the remaining top seeds including fourth seed Coco Gauff and fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka. Eala will next face 15th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, while Mertens is set to play unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova. The winners of these matches will meet in the quarterfinals.
Swiatek's early exit marks the first time since 2018 that both the top two seeds have failed to reach the third round at Wimbledon. Rybakina's loss also means that no previous Wimbledon champion remains in the draw.
