Elena Rybakina stuns top seed Iga Swiatek at Australian Open

• Top seeds Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff both lose in round of 16.
• Loss is first Grand Slam in the Open era since 1968.
• Latvian 17th seed Gauff breaks down in tears in post-match press conference.

Iga Swiatek, the top seed, and a sobbing Coco Gauff both lost in straight sets to exit the Australian Open’s round of 16 on Sunday.

The loss of the top two seeds in the men’s and women’s draws before the quarterfinals by Swiatek to Elena Rybakina is the first Grand Slam in the Open era since 1968.

Rybakina, the Wimbledon champion, defeated the Polish winner of the 2022 French and US Open 6-4, 6-4, in 1 hour and 29 minutes at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.

Kazakh Rybakina, who was born in Moscow, will face Jelena Ostapenko in the round of eight.

“I’m nervous every time I go on court.”

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The Latvian 17th seed caused the second upset of a wild few minutes, defeating seventh seed Gauff 7-5, 6-3 on Margaret Court Arena.

During an emotional post-match press conference, Gauff, 18, burst into tears.

Swiatek, the world number one and hot favourite, conceded that Rybakina, the 22nd seed, deserved to win.

“I felt pressure,” Swiatek, 21, explained. “I felt like I didn’t want to lose more than I wanted to win.”

Swiatek, who dominated women’s tennis last year and is a three-time major champion, went on to say: “I realised today that I don’t have much energy to battle any more.

“I felt like I had taken a step back in terms of how I approached these events, and I may have pushed myself a little too hard.

“So I’m going to attempt to relax a little more.”

Swiatek follows second seed Ons Jabeur out of Melbourne, the Tunisian having been knocked out in the second round.

The American Gauff had been tipped to beat Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion.

Gauff had to wait at least a little bit longer for his first major championship, but the 25-year-old Ostapenko was always in charge.

“I knew she’s such a terrific player, super young, and she’s playing pretty well, but I really had nothing to lose,” Ostapenko said.

“I just went there and tried to give it my all and battle for every point and make it difficult for her, and I’m really thrilled with the way I played.”

Ostapenko, whose last Grand Slam quarter-final appearance came at Wimbledon in 2018, has been plagued by injuries in recent years and has never beaten a player rated in the top ten at the Australian Open.

“I was trying to stay positive all the while,” Ostapenko explained. “I knew I had to play aggressively, even if I missed a few balls.”

Third seed Jessica Pegula and in-form fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka now appear to be the women to beat in their quest for their maiden Grand Slam title.

Later Sunday, Pegula will meet 20th seed Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round.

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