WTA live rankings changed fast on Saturday at Wimbledon, where Alexandra Eala beat defending champion Iga Swiatek and Elise Mertens knocked out world No 2 Elena Rybakina. The two third-round upsets sent the women’s draw into the fourth round without the top titleholder or the No 2 seed.
Eala won 7-6, 6-2, then said, “Because I am emotional does not mean I am satisfied,” after becoming the first player from the Philippines to reach the third round at Wimbledon before pushing through to the fourth round. She will face Jasmine Paolini in the last 16.
Alexandra Eala and Iga Swiatek
The 21-year-old also explained where the result came from, saying, “For someone who grew up in the Philippines and went to train with my brother and grandfather every day after school with my ruffled socks and light up shoes and chubby cheeks, to [me] this is everything,” after the match. That line carried the weight of the upset: she did not just survive the first week, she removed the defending champion from the bracket.
Eala added, “Next round, let’s go. Being here is such a blessing. I’m taking it. If I have the opportunity, I am taking it.” The straight-sets score left Swiatek out in the third round, and it also put Eala into a match that now carries a different level of attention.
Elise Mertens in Wimbledon
Mertens delivered the other upset, beating Rybakina 7-6, 6-1 after taking the first-set tie-break. “I really took the momentum there,” she said, and the second set turned that edge into a clean finish.
Rybakina entered Wimbledon as the world No 2 and the winner of this year’s Australian Open title, but she still fell in straight sets to the Belgian No 25 seed. That is the part of the day that changes the bottom half of the draw most sharply: the top seed line did not just wobble, it cracked in two separate third-round matches.
For Eala, the practical result is simple. She moves on to Jasmine Paolini in the last 16 with a path that no longer includes Swiatek, while Mertens leaves the section without giving Rybakina a chance to settle into the second week. The draw now asks a new question of the players left in that half: who handles the opening left by two upsets on the same day?
