Elena Rybakina shows sportsmanship, rushes to crying Alize Cornet's aid as she slips and falls during Wimbledon 2R clash

Elena Rybakina rushed to Alize Cornet’s aid after the veteran slipped and fell during their second-round match at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

Rybakina was locked in an intense battle with France's Cornet at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships on Thursday. The World No. 3 got off to a dominant start as she clinched the opener 6-2, but the second set proved to be a challenge.

Alize Cornet, who halted Iga Swiatek’s 37-match winning streak at last year’s Wimbledon and is widely known as a ‘giant killer’ for knocking out title favorites, expectedly rose to the occasion on Thursday.

The World No. 74 went neck-and-neck with Rybakina in the second set and posed a real threat to her much-fancied opponent in the 11th game of the set. As Elena Rybakina struggled with her serve and dished out plenty of unforced errors at 5-5, Alize Cornet stayed firm and produced break points, with a deciding set in sight.

But during the 27-minute-long 11th game, Cornet slipped on the grass, twisted her hip and bumped her knee, before falling to the ground in tears. Rybakina was quick to rush to her aid, and tried to assist her wounded opponent.

After taking a medical timeout, Cornet opted to continue the match. The Frenchwoman was able to serve out the next game and pushed Elena Rybakina to a tiebreak, where she was ultimately knocked out 6-2, 7-6 (2).

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Elena Rybakina to face Katie Boulter after victory over Alize Cornet at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships

Elena Rybakina at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships

Elena Rybakina has kept herself alive in her title defense at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships despite being challenged by both of her first two opponents.

Rybakina reflected on the match against Cornet in the on-court interview and admitted to facing a dip in form in the second set.

“I started the match good and I think I had good energy also. But in the second it became a bit tougher and I fell that I’m not pushing as good as the first one. And it was a tricky long game. Also, Alize fell,” she said.

The World No. 3 was, however, happy to be able to close out the match in two sets.

“Yeah, it was a tough match but happy to manage to win in two sets and get to another round,” she said.

Rybakina, who is in pursuit of her second Grand Slam title after failing in her 2023 Australian Open final attempt, hasn’t had the smoothest of starts to her campaign at SW19. The 24-year-old struggled during her opening-round match against American Shelby Rogers as well. She eventually claimed the win in three sets 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

The Kazakh will now face home favorite Katie Boulter in the third round on Saturday.

“I understand the crowd won’t be on my side this time, but hopefully it’s going to be a good match and everybody enjoys it. Yeah, I’m looking forward to that one,” Rybakina said after her second-round win.