Andreeva, 18, to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon; Rybakina, 2022 champion, eliminated

Mirra Andreeva advances at Wimbledon; Rybakina eliminated

Young tennis player Mirra Andreeva, world number 7, continues to demonstrate her talent at Wimbledon by reaching the round of 16 for the third consecutive time in a Grand Slam tournament. On the other hand, former champion Elena Rybakina, seeded number 11, suffered an unexpected defeat at the hands of Clara Tauson, number 23, in a match interrupted by rain. Andreeva, at just 18 years old, defeated American Hailey Baptiste with a score of 6-1 and 6-3, becoming the youngest player to reach the round of 16 in the first three Grand Slam tournaments of the season since Nicole Vaidisova achieved it in 2006. In a week full of surprises, Andreeva, the highest seed in the bottom half of the women’s draw, has yet to concede a set, matching her best performance at the All England Club.

“Honestly, I was very focused today. I knew it would be difficult because she creates many different things on the court and has a great forehand. With each match I play, I feel like my level is rising.”

Mirra Andreeva

In the next round, Andreeva will face number 10, Emma Navarro, who defeated the current Wimbledon champion, Barbora Krejcikova. Rybakina, champion in 2022, was playing her fifth edition of Wimbledon, having reached the second week in the previous four. She had never before been defeated in straight sets in this tournament. For her part, Tauson advanced to the round of 16 of a Grand Slam for the second time in her career, joining Caroline Wozniacki as the only Danish players to achieve this multiple times in the Open era (since 1968).

“Before the grass season started, I had never won a match on grass, so I am very proud and happy with the way I played today.”

Clara Tauson

Tauson achieved 73% of points with her first serve in the victory over Rybakina, who had won their two previous encounters. Tauson will next face five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, who defeated American Danielle Collins with a score of 6-2 and 6-3 to secure her place in the quarterfinals.

“Before the grass season began, I had never won a match on grass, so I am very proud,” said Clara Tauson, who had not won in her previous three trips to the All England Club.Other round of 16 matches were also defined, such as the one between Liudmila Samsonova and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. Bouzas Maneiro, who defeated the 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in the first round last year, beat Dayana Yastremska 6-1, 2-6 and 6-3. Yastremska, for her part, had eliminated Coco Gauff, number 2 in the world, in the first round of this year. Belinda Bencic also advanced, overcoming Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto with a score of 6-4, 3-6 and 7-6 (7) in a three-hour match. This will be Bencic’s fourth appearance in the Wimbledon round of 16, tying with Martina Hingis as the Swiss with the most appearances in the Open era. Ekaterina Alexandrova, number 18, defeated Zeynep Sonmez by 6-3 and 7-6 (1).