Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina came from a set down against Laura Siegemund to secure her place in the second round of the Slovenia Open.

Siegemund won the first set on a tie break, but Kazakhstan representative Rybakina stormed back to win the second before winning a tense 10-8 tie break in the crucial third set, surviving a match point in the process.

The world number 25's victory sets up a second round meeting with Tereza Martincova, who overcame a poor first set to beat Harriet Dart 0-6 6-4 6-1.

At the Chennai Open, top seed Alison Riske-Amritraj was beaten in straight sets in an upset defeat to world number 147 Anastasia Gasanova.

There were no such upsets for the second and third seeds though, as Varvara Gracheva and Magda Linette both cruised to victory to clinch their safe passage to the second round.

Elsewhere, Katie Swan beat Arianne Hartono 6-1 6-2 while India's number one singles player Ankita Raina was knocked out of her home tournament by Tatjana Maria.

Elena Rybakina has been bundled out of the first round of the Silicon Valley Classic by Daria Kasatkina in her first game since her Wimbledon triumph last month.

Rybakina won the first set comfortably before the Russian hit back for a remarkable turnaround win, 1-6 6-2 6-0 in one hour and 40 minutes.

Seventh seed Kasatkina was the runner-up at last year's Silicon Valley Classic and found her groove to break her Rybakina six times in the second and third sets.

Rybakina sent down three of her four aces for the match in the first set, but Kasatkina adjusted to her serve and won 52.1 per cent return points for the match.

Eighth seed Karolina Pliskova fought back from a slow start to get past Katie Boulter 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, despite 16 double faults.

American Amanda Anisimova overcame compatriot Ashlyn Krueger 6-2 7-6 (7-5). US pair Madison Keys and Taylor Townsend were also winners.

Third seed Simona Halep and top seed Jessica Pegula were both among the winners in the first round at the Citi Open in Washington DC.

Two-time major winner Halep cruised past Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa 6-3 7-5 in one hour and 20 minutes.

Halep, playing her first match since her Wimbledon semi-final loss to Rybakina, fired 19 winners but also 33 unforced errors.

Defending champion Pegula made light work of countrywoman Hailey Baptiste 6-2 6-2 in 73 minutes.

Pegula will face unseeded Australian Daria Saville, who won in three sets over Mirjam Bjorklund, while sixth seed Kaia Kanepi will meet China's Zhu Lin after both won on Monday.

Fifth seed Elise Mertens was a first-round casualty, going down 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to Ludmilla Samsonova, while Croatian Donna Vekic knocked off seventh seed Mayar Sherif 6-4 6-1.

Six-time major champion Venus Williams played her first singles match in nearly a year but bowed out 4-6 6-1 6-4 to Rebecca Marino. 

Ons Jabeur said she was simply "not ready" to win a grand slam after losing in three sets to Elena Rybakina in the Wimbledon final.

The Tunisian world number two won the first set of Sunday's title match but then faded and slid to a 3-6 6-2 6-2 defeat.

Russian-born Rybakina, who switched nationality to Kazakh four years ago after being offered financial incentives to do so, was able to celebrate a surprise maiden slam title.

Jabeur was disappointed after the loss and told reporters in a news conference: "I couldn't do more, I really tried deep inside everything that I can.

"I did everything since the beginning of the year to really focus on this tournament, I even have the trophy picture on my phone.

"It wasn't meant to be. I cannot force things. I'm not ready for it probably, to be a grand slam champion."

The 27-year-old was optimistic of her chances of eventually making a breakthrough at the highest level, and perhaps a chance will come at the US Open in September.

She said: "I cannot wait to look forward to the next one.

"If I have another final I will learn more from it. I cannot wait to really improve a lot of things in my game.

"I want to [continue to] be a top-five player, I want to win more titles, I want to win a grand slam."

Elena Rybakina produced a breathtaking comeback to win the Wimbledon title as Ons Jabeur fell short in the women's final – a Russian native triumphing in the name of Kazakhstan.

Rybakina, who was born, raised and learned her tennis trade in Moscow, switched to represent Kazakhstan in 2018 after being offered an appealing financial package.

Russians were banned, along with their Belarusian colleagues, from playing at Wimbledon this year by the All England Club, owing to the Kremlin-led invasion of Ukraine.

The decision has cost Wimbledon, and Britain's Lawn Tennis Association, fines totalling $1million, albeit those are being appealed.

And still, somehow, a player with tight Russian ties has prevailed, handed the trophy on Centre Court by the Duchess of Cambridge. This was not, it seems safe to say, the ideal scenario for Wimbledon's blazer brigade.

Yet in Rybakina the tournament has an exciting young champion, and given she turned her back on playing for Russia to represent Kazakhstan, it is hardly a victory that Vladimir Putin can hold up as a great triumph for his country on the global sporting stage.

All the same, some of the power-brokers in SW19 might have been quietly hoping that Jabeur would see this through, the world number two delivering trophy success that would have been celebrated across Africa and the Arab world.

The crowd appeared to be pulling for Jabeur too, after the 27-year-old made herself a favourite thanks to her entertaining, enterprising brand of tennis, matched to a thoroughly charming personality.

The Tunisian, playing the biggest match of her life as the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha got under way, looked like her day in the sun had arrived when on a sizzling London day she took the first set without any particular fuss.

A pre-tournament sally by the seaside with Serena Williams served Jabeur well, their doubles liaison in Eastbourne emboldening the world number two for this fortnight, and yet come crunch point in the final, it all went over the cliff.

There was a skip of satisfaction when Jabeur broke early in that first set, and with the six-foot Rybakina spraying her powerful ground shots often out of court it looked to be a match that could only go one way. There were sizzling winners from Rybakina but too many unforced errors, with 17 in the first set alone.

Perhaps it was the scale of what she was halfway to achieving, but Jabeur's focus then slipped. An ill-advised 'tweener', the between-the-legs party piece favoured by Nick Kyrgios, found the net and pointed to incoming trouble.

Rybakina swept to a 5-1 lead in the second set. Jabeur, known as the "minister of happiness" in Tunisia, soon looked pretty glum as Rybakina levelled the match with an ace on set point.

The winners-to-errors ratio had swung around dramatically from the first set, and when Rybakina sprinted ahead in the decider with an immediate break, dominating the battles of craft as well as the full-power rallies, Jabeur was in the doldrums.

The usually mild-mannered Jabeur lashed out when she was outsmarted at the net by Rybakina, lucky not to make full contact as she swished out at the ball in frustration.

Leading 3-2 and approaching the finish line, Rybakina slipped 0-40 down, as some of Jabeur's great touch returned with drop-shot and lob winners. That could have been a turning point, but Rybakina fended off the danger in terrific style, finishing off the game with a simple volley at the net.

Victory came from the first match point, Jabeur hacking a backhand wide. Rybakina raised her left wrist to her mouth, puffed out her cheeks and jogged up to the net to greet Jabeur, before waving to all corners of Centre Court.

The world number 23, whose age matches her ranking, becomes the second-lowest ranked women's singles champion at Wimbledon since the Open Era began in 1968. Only Venus Williams in 2007, when ranked 31st, triumphed from a lower rung on the ladder.

It was 3-6 6-2 6-2 in the end, and Rybakina became the first women's singles champion since Amelie Mauresmo in 2006 to come back from losing the first set to carry off the Venus Rosewater Dish.

She passed 50 aces in a WTA-level tournament for the first time in the process, with four in this match taking her Wimbledon 2022 total to 53, and becomes the youngest women's champion in these parts since 2011, when a 21-year-old Petra Kvitova saw off Maria Sharapova.

Sharapova was champion for Russia as a 17-year-old in 2004. This, though, was for Kazakhstan, Rybakina effusively thanking the wealthy federation president Bulat Utemuratov who watched on proudly.

As Wimbledon hung on every word, he was emphatically the right president to acknowledge.

Ons Jabeur is hopeful that she will have another shot at winning a maiden grand slam title after losing to Elena Rybakina in three sets in Saturday's Wimbledon final.

The third seed let slip a one-set lead to lose 3-6 6-2 6-2 to Rybakina in a Centre Court clash between two females contesting their first major finals.

World number two Jabeur had won all 11 matches played on grass in 2022 heading into the final, including six wins en route to the Championship match at the All England Club.

But the Tunisian struggled to build on a bright start, winning just two of her 12 break points and finishing with 17 winners to 29 for Rybakina, who she felt was a deserving winner.

"I want to congratulate Elena and her team – it was a great job and she deserved this and hopefully next time it will be mine," Jabeur said in her on-court interview.

"I wouldn't do this without my team there. They always pushed me to do more so thank you for your support and believing me."

Saturday's contest was the first time in the past 15 such occasions, since 2006, that a player has lost the first set and gone on to win the Wimbledon women's singles final.

While she may have fallen just short of becoming the first Arab and African female to win a grand slam, Jabeur hopes she has inspired children back home.

"Elena stole my title but it's okay," she joked. "I love this tournament so much and I feel really sad, but I'm trying to inspire many generations from my country. 

"I hope they are listening. I also want to thank his beautiful crowd for all their support over the two weeks. It's been amazing. I want to wish Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating."

Surprise champion Elena Rybakina doubted she would make the second week at Wimbledon, never mind win the title.

After a 3-6 6-2 6-2 victory over hot favourite Ons Jabeur, Rybakina spoke of her pride at becoming the first player representing Kazakhstan to win a grand slam singles title.

She is Russian-born and raised, switching nationality four years ago after receiving financial incentives to do that, so in a year when players representing Russia were banned from Wimbledon, her triumph has perhaps come at an inopportune moment for tournament chiefs.

Rybakina was concerned purely with sporting success rather than politics and war on a day when she picked apart Jabeur's game so impressively in the second and third sets.

She became the first women's singles champion to come back and win after dropping the opening set of a Wimbledon final since Amelie Mauresmo did so against Justine Henin in 2006.

"I'm speechless because I was super nervous before the match, during the match, and I'm honestly happy it's finished," said Rybakina.

"Really, I've never felt something like this. I just want to say big thanks to the crowd for their support, it was unbelievable all these two weeks.

"I didn't expect to be in the second week at Wimbledon and to be a winner is just amazing."

Rybakina, whose world ranking of 23 matches her age, hailed third seed Jabeur, who had been bidding to become Africa's first women's singles champion in a grand slam.

"I want to thank Ons for the great match and everything you achieved," Rybakina said. "You are inspirational, not just for the young juniors but for everybody. You have an amazing game and I don't think we have someone [else] like this on tour. It's just a joy to play against you."

Rybakina was presented with the trophy by the Duchess of Cambridge, and she savoured playing in front of British royalty.

It has been widely perceived that a factor behind the ban on Russians and Belarusians this year was that the optics of royalty handing over the trophy to a player from either country would not be ideal, given the Kremlin-led ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The Duchess spoke warmly to Rybakina as she presented the trophy, and the newest grand slam winner on the women's tour had a message for the royals, too.

"Thank you for the Royal Box," she said. "I'm playing first time [in front of royalty] and it's an honour to be here in front of you. Thank you so much. It's just an unbelievable atmosphere, thank you."

Elena Rybakina recovered from behind to beat Ons Jabeur in three sets in Saturday's Wimbledon women's singles final and claim her first grand slam title.

In a groundbreaking contest on Centre Court between two females contesting their maiden major finals – an Open Era first – it was number 17 seed Rybakina who held her nerve.

She prevailed 3-6 6-2 6-2 in two hours and 52 minutes against the in-form Jabeur, who had won 11 matches in a row, to win just her third career title – and a first since 2020.

The 23-year-old, who had lost her past four finals, becomes the youngest female to win the singles title at the All England Club since Petra Kvitova in 2011.

World number two Jabeur settled the quicker of the pair and got an early break in the third game, blunting Rybakina's big baseline hitting

Despite passing up two break points in the fifth game, Jabeur looked composed and again broke her opponent in the ninth game to grab a huge foothold in the match.

Rybakina's 17 unforced errors in the opener suggested a gulf in quality, but she earned a first break in the opening game of the second set following a poor forehand from Jabeur. 

Jabeur let a break point of her own pass her by in the next game as a growing-in-confidence Rybakina held, but the Tunisian dug deep to save a break point in the third.

That looked like being a big moment as, from 30-0 up, Rybakina gifted her opponent three break points, but Jabeur failed to take any of them – a running theme.

The Kazakh took three of the next four games to take the match all the way, and that momentum was carried into the decider as she won the opening game against serve.

Jabeur's best shot at hitting back arrived in the sixth game, where three break points came and went, and with that Rybakina claimed the next two games for a famous victory.

Elena Rybakina is determined to enjoy herself after setting up a groundbreaking Wimbledon final against Ons Jabeur.

Rybakina had not won a single grass-court semi-final prior to Thursday's match against Simona Halep, but she rose to the occasion in a stunning 6-3 6-3 win.

While the Kazakh said she was "quite nervous", it did not show as she forged nine break point opportunities – including in each Halep service game of the first set – and faced just one.

Rybakina's serve was similarly effective, with five aces and no double-faults; Halep had no aces and nine double-faults.

"It was really, really good," the victor said. "Usually, I have ups and downs. But I think today I was mentally prepared, and I did everything I could, and it was an amazing match."

Now, attention turns towards facing Jabeur, with both women playing their first major finals.

It will be the first time in the Open Era the women's singles final at the All England Club will be contested between two players who have not played a championship match at a grand slam before.

The stakes are only getting higher for Rybakina, but she is relishing the opportunity.

"I think it's going to be a great match," she said. "I'm going to try to do my best, but I'm going to enjoy it. I've already done a lot; it's time to enjoy the final."

Elena Rybakina overpowered former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep 6-3 6-3 in the last four on Thursday to reach her first major final at the All England Club.

Rybakina is playing in the main draw in SW19 for only the second time, having debuted in 2021.

Yet the Kazakh looks every bit as accomplished on the London grass as the esteemed Halep, who had not lost at Wimbledon since 2018, taking the title in 2019.

Indeed, the Romanian met her match in Rybakina, who forged nine break point opportunities in a dominant display, aided by a flawless serve as Halep gave up a costly nine double-faults.

Despite being one of the game's great returners, Halep found herself on the back foot right from the outset.

She faced break points in each of her four service games in the opener, with a rampant Rybakina decisively seizing the first of them as she dictated play from the back of the court.

Rybakina's power continued to cause problems for Halep, although a trio of double-faults – including to both set up and secure the break point – were to blame as the first-time semi-finalist was gifted an early lead again in the second set.

That advantage was cancelled out in similarly generous fashion, with four straight unforced errors seeing Rybakina unexpectedly broken to love.

However, normal service was swiftly resumed as Rybakina won a sublime rally to tee up another break, and there was time for one final flourish as a sensational return from the 23-year-old left Halep rooted and wrapped up victory in 77 minutes.

Data slam: Simona's semi-final struggles

Losing at Wimbledon may have been an unfamiliar feeling for Halep after 12 straight wins at the tournament, including 10 in straight sets, but she is becoming all too accustomed to failing in the last four.

Excluding walkovers, this was the Romanian's fourth consecutive semi-final defeat. For Rybakina, it was a first win at this stage of any tournament on grass.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Rybakina – 13/16
Halep – 16/15

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Rybakina – 5/0
Halep – 0/9

BREAK POINTS WON

Rybakina – 3/9
Halep – 1/1

Elena Rybakina sealed her first grand slam semi-final appearance in impressive fashion as she recovered from a set down to beat Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6 6-2 6-3 in Wimbledon's last eight. 

Rybakina was on the back foot after going a set and a break down on No. 1 Court, but the big-serving 23-year-old quickly shifted through the gears to claim a routine triumph and tee up a last-four clash with Simona Halep.

In doing so, she became the first female Kazakh player to reach a grand slam semi-final in the Open Era, with players from the country having lost on each of their previous eight major quarter-final appearances.

Tomljanovic made a terrific start, moving well and winning 85 per cent of first-serve points as she built on a third-game break to take the opener with an impressive showing.

But after being put under pressure by another Tomljanovic break, Rybakina came roaring back to level the contest, winning 11 consecutive points to clinch the second set as the momentum swung her way.

A reinvigorated Rybakina broke again early in the decider as she took seven successive games and, although she had to wait to seal victory after the duo traded breaks, eventually converted her second match point to continue her best Wimbledon run.

Data Slam: Rybakina serves up a treat

Rybakina came into this contest having served more aces than any other player on the WTA circuit in 2022 (197), and Tomljanovic was powerless to resist as she hit another 15 on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old has now made (44) aces at Wimbledon this year, more than any other female player.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Tomljanovic 14/21
Rybakina 34/28

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Tomljanovic 1/1
Rybakina 15/1

BREAK POINTS WON

Tomljanovic 3/9
Rybakina 5/9

Elena Rybakina and Tamara Zidansek were both surprise second-round losers at The Rosmalen Grass Court Championships as numerous top seeds fell on Thursday.

Third favourite Rybakina struggled to find her rhythm and fell to a 6-2 6-4 loss against world number 42 Shelby Rogers.

The American will face Kirsten Flipkens in the quarter-finals in the Netherlands after she eased past Ann Li in straight sets.

Aryna Sabalenka, the favourite at the tournament, had little difficulty in negotiating past Arianne Hartono 6-2 6-3 and she will meet Alison van Uytvanck in the next round.

The Belgian picked up the scalp of compatriot Elise Mertens, the eighth seed, with a 6-2 6-3 win over the world number 29.

Fourth seed Zidansek was another to fall as she suffered a 6-1 6-1 loss to Catherine McNally, while Veronika Kudermetova profited from Anna Blinkova retiring with the match heading for one set each.

Belinda Bencic, the second favourite, will next challenge Kudermetova after she bucked the trend of the day with a battling 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 win over Anna Kalinskaya.

Seventh seed Ekaterina Alexandrova had no trouble in advancing, meanwhile, as she saw off Anhelina Kalinina 6-4 6-2.

Maria Sakkari found herself 1-0 down against world number 109 Rebecca Marino before rain stopped play at the Nottingham Open, but the top seed responded to claim a 1-6 6-3 6-3 win.

Third seed Camila Giorgi had no such luck against Hannah Dart as she was eliminated 5-7 6-4 7-6 (7-3), while Alison Riske and Ajla Tomljanovic beat Caroline Garcia and Katie Boulter respectively in straight sets.

World number one Iga Swiatek beat Victoria Azarenka 6-4 6-1 to progress to the quarter-finals of the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome on Thursday. 

Swiatek, who became the first female player to win 25 consecutive matches since Serena Williams in 2015, will face Bianca Andreescu in the last eight after she eased past Petra Martic 6-4 6-4.

"I didn't start well, and everybody could see that," Swiatek told reporters. "I'm really happy with the way I reacted and how I improved in the first set.

"Also how different the second set looked to the first one because I could really reset and really change the way I played. That's the most positive thing for me."

There was a shock in the final game of the day, though, as Daria Kasatkina dumped out number two seed Paula Badosa 6-4 6-4. 

Third seed Aryna Sabalenka sealed a third straight win over Jessica Pegula, easing to a 6-1 6-4 victory, while fourth seed Maria Sakkari defeated Coco Gauff 6-4 7-5.

Seventh seed Danielle Collins was knocked out by unseeded compatriot Amanda Anisimova, the 20-year-old cruising past the Australian Open finalist 6-2 6-2.

There were also victories for Jil Teichmann, who overcame Elena Rybakina 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 7-5, and ninth seed Ons Jabeur, who beat Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-2.

Naomi Osaka joined several other big names in falling to a second-round exit at the Madrid Open, although Emma Raducanu cruised to a routine straight-sets win over Marta Kostyuk.

Four-time grand slam winner Osaka crashed to a resounding 6-3 6-1 loss to Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo, exiting her first tournament on clay since the 2021 French Open, where she withdrew citing mental health issues.

Osaka, who had posted an underwhelming 20-15 record on the surface prior to this week, looked uncomfortable throughout and appeared to struggle with a leg injury during a disappointing second set display.

The 24-year-old was not the only high profile player to be on the receiving end of a shock during a day of drama in the Spanish capital, as several of the competition's seeds failed to secure places in the last 16.

Another home favourite, Garbine Muguruza, fell to a resounding loss of her own as Anhelina Kalinina raced to a 6-3 6-0 victory over the seventh seed, while sixth seed Danielle Collins was thrashed 6-1 6-1 by Canadian Bianca Andreescu.

Fourth seed Maria Sakkari was the highest-ranked player in action, and although the world number five won the first set of her clash with Daria Kasatkina, the Greek eventually fell to a 3-6 6-3 6-1 loss, while 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez went down 6-4 6-4 to Jil Teichmann.

One big name who did make comfortable progress, however, was Fernandez's US Open conqueror Raducanu, who eased to a 6-2 6-1 win over Kostyuk to set up a last-16 encounter with another Ukrainian in Kalinina. 

The 19-year-old, who has been quoted as saying she believes clay could prove to be her best surface in the future, was delighted with her victory and enjoying the tournament after dropping just one game in the second set.

"I'm definitely happy with my performance," Raducanu said on court. "Marta's a great opponent - I knew it was going to be a really tough battle. I went out there trying to be really aggressive and it paid off.

"It's my first clay court season and I'm really enjoying it. Madrid is such a cool city and it's got such a great vibe about it. I definitely want to try and stay here for as long as possible."

Two top-ten talents have booked a date in the Indian Wells Open semi-final after Maria Sakkari and Paula Badosa won their quarter-finals in straight sets. 

First up, world number six Sakkari took on Ukrainian Elena Rybakina, prevailing 7-5 6-4.

Rybakina won the first three games of the match, working her way to an early 4-1 lead, before her Greek opponent rattled off six of the next seven games to claim the first set.

Sakkari again faced adversity early in the second set, coming back from 40-0 down in the second game to hold serve, before breaking the very next game to pinch the match-winning lead.

Petra Kvitova crashed out of the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy, but Jelena Ostapenko is safely through to the quarter-finals.

Two-time grand slam champion Kvitova was comfortably beaten in straight sets by Irina-Camelia Begu, with the Romanian winning 6-4 6-0 in just one hour and nine minutes.

The effectiveness of the first serve was the main difference-maker, with Begu winning 73.1 per cent of her first-serve points, while Kvitova – who has 28 singles titles to her name in contrast to her opponents' four – could only manage 50 per cent.

Begu was set to face the winner of Tereza Martincova's tie with Elena Rybakina, but the latter withdrew because of illness.

Seventh seed Ostapenko made light work of Andrea Petkovic as she beat the German 6-1 6-2 in just 58 minutes, helped largely by winning 85.3 per cent of her first serves, as well as saving all five of the break points she offered up.

Ostapenko has now won two of her four meetings with Petkovic and will next face Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who eased to a 6-2 6-3 victory over Jaqueline Cristian.