Serena Williams Out Of French Open After Elena Rybakina's Straight Sets Win

Who is Elena Rybakina: Grand Slam winner Serena Williams is out of the French Open after a surprising 6-3 7-5 defeat by 21-year-old Russian Elena Rybakina in Paris. The American was furthering her quest for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title, unfortunately, ended in the French Open at the last-16 stage on Sunday.

The 39-year-old ace Williams hasn't made it past the fourth round at Roland Garros since 2016. This time, she tried to lift her level but instead became the latest top-10 seed to depart the women's singles. Williams will now focus on Wimbledon -- the third grand slam of the season — which starts on June 28. This is another chance for her to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

When asked about how long she can keep competing at Grand Slams, she said, "I'm definitely not thinking about it at all. I'm definitely thinking just about other things but not about that."

But who is Elena Rybakina?

Russian-born Rybakina powered through the last 16 and entered the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time. The three-time Grand Slam champion will next face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a semifinal spot.

The Russian has a unique history. When she didn't find enough support from her own country, she changed her nationality to represent Kazakhstan in 2018. This was mainly in the process of securing "bigger support" from the Kazakh Tennis Federation, according to reports.

Rybakina was only two months old when Williams won her first Grand Slam title in New York in September 1999.

"I am so happy with my match, it was amazing," the younger and less-experienced opponent said adding, "I was small, of course I was watching her matches on TV."