Iga Swiatek’s Wimbledon title defence came to an end after the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala pulled off a stunning third-round upset on Saturday evening.
Swiatek slipped to a 7-6 (11/9), 6-2 defeat on Centre Court as 29th seed Eala reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
It is six-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek’s earliest exit from a major tournament since another third-round defeat, by Yulia Putintseva, at Wimbledon two years ago.
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Swiatek’s Wimbledon title defence ends in shock
Eala had already made history for the Philippines by becoming the first player from the Southeast Asian nation to reach the third round of a Grand Slam in the Open era.
“I’m really emotional and maybe for someone like Iga who has won so many Slams, or someone like Serena or Venus (Williams), this achievement might seem small,” Eala said.
“But for someone who grew up in the Philippines. I trained with my mother and my grandfather every day after school with ruffled socks and chubby cheeks. so this is everything.”
The left-hander, who had only won one match at a Slam before this week, will face former Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini on Monday.
The 25-year-old Swiatek failed to bounce back from a disappointing last-16 defeat at the French Open, where she is a four-time winner.
She made 44 unforced errors as she struggled to regroup after missing two set points in a dramatic tie-break which decided an 84-minute first set.
“I felt like Alexandra was more brave in important moments,” said Swiatek.
“In the tie-break we both had many chances to close the set earlier, and it didn’t go my way.”
Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina also suffered a surprise exit in a 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 defeat against Elise Mertens on Court One.
Rybakina was hoping to follow her Australian Open triumph in January by winning Wimbledon for the second time.
The world number two was unable to emulate her 2022 victory at the All England Club as Belgian 25th seed Mertens produced an upset.
Mertens will play Czech 21st seed Marie Bouzkova for a quarter-final place.
Last year’s runner-up Amanda Anisimova bowed out, losing 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
Williams and her sister Venus were due to play in the doubles first round on Saturday, but Serena announced just hours before the match that her knee had not healed enough to play.
The 44-year-old Serena suffered the injury during her first-round singles defeat by Maya Joint on Tuesday.
That was her first singles match since the 2022 US Open after four years in retirement.
Tournament organisers delayed the Williams sisters’ first-round tie until Saturday to give Serena “as much time” as possible to recover.
“I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles,” the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion said on Instagram.