Iga Swiatek’s Wimbledon title defense was ended by the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala in a third-round shock on July 4, while “heartbroken” Serena Williams was forced to withdraw from the doubles tournament.
Kazakh second seed Elena Rybakina also crashed out, leaving the bottom half of the women’s singles draw wide open.
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.
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.
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.
