Elena Rybakina was among the two former Wimbledon champions remaining in the women’s singles draw at the tournament’s 2025 edition at the start of Day 6. By the time that curtains drew on the day’s action, there were none left.
While defending champ Barbora Krejcikova came up short against a higher-ranked opponent, Rybakina fell prey to an upset. She, however, was not alone. With first-week action all wrapped up, let’s take a look at some of the biggest shocks to have come from the remainder of third-round matches played on Day 6 of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships:
Elena Rybakina
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That slight edge, the one that comes with a lefty serve coming in handy to close out games from the Ad side, was one of the key difference-makers in Tauson’s 7-6(6), 6-3 upset of the former champion.
The Dane served better (never being broken for the entirety of the match) and was also the braver of the big points. She took her chances, both in regulation play and tiebreakers, to send the former Wimbledon champ packing.
Jakub Mensik
If there’s one thing that this year’s Wimbledon reminds fans of, it is the fact that only serving big is not enough to get one over the line on grass.
Jakub Mensik hit 57 aces in his three matches, two more than opponent Flavio Cobolli even in their third-round encounter. He, however, still found himself heading home after a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 drubbing at the hands of the Italian..
The Czech teen sensation’s big game is tailor-made for grass, but Cobolli showed that experience is just as important an asset on grass as booming serves. He was able to weave a web for his under-experienced opponent in an entertaining encounter, one that there was no getting out of.
Brandon Nakashima
Another Italian with a solid all-court game, Lorenzo Sonego, joined Flavio Cobolli on the list of surprise winners on Day 6 of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
In what was a more traditional showcase for serve-dominant grass court tennis, Sonego and Nakashima traded unreturnable deliveries for a vast majority of their contest. In fact, only one set in a marathon tussle was decided without a tiebreaker.
The tight shootout situation, after all, was where Sonego’s better variety and superior experience on grass shone as he outclassed his opponent 10-3 in the final set tiebreaker.
Daria Kasatkina
In the match closest on paper, 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova was a winner over 16th seed Daria Kasatkina. The encounter pitted the former power against the latter’s guile, with Samsonova finally bringing in joy for the big hitters.
Samsonova has shown her potential on grass with a big title in the past, but Kasatkina’s guile can be just as effective on the low-bouncing lawns as her opponent’s power.
On the day though, it was the lower-seeded player who came out on top in rallies. She also served just a tad bit better in a match where breaks of serve were fairly recurrent. In the end, Samsonova’s power proved too much for Kasatkina to handle as she went down 6-2, 6-3.
