Best of Wimbledon Round 3: Swiatek, Rybakina exits open door for new contenders

The calmest day of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships was followed by perhaps the most shocking.

Wimbledon: Scores | Order of play | Draws

After the favorites handled business in the top half of the draw Friday, chaos reigned Saturday. The departure of defending champion Iga Swiatek was sandwiched between losses by 2022 champ Elena Rybakina and last year's runner-up Amanda Anisimova.

Suddenly, 21-year-old Linda Noskova -- more on her thrilling third-round encounter in a bit -- is the highest ranked WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz player left in a wide-open bottom half, setting the stage for more fireworks even after the Fourth of July comes to an end.

Here's what Round 3 at Wimbledon had to offer.

Swiatek, Rybakina and Anisimova exits upend bottom half of the draw

Elise Mertens knocking out Rybakina 7-6 (4), 6-1 was a mild surprise on its own. When Alexandra Eala followed suit by ousting Swiatek 7-6 (9), 6-2 on Centre Court in similar fashion to reach her first Grand Slam fourth round, it left Anisimova as the top seed remaining in the bottom half.

But that didn't last long. Madison Keys came from a set down to win the All-American Fourth of July showdown 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in her Centre Court debut.

"It's actually my first time on this court ever," Keys said in her on-court interview. "After that first set, I really just tried to dig deep because I didn't want my first time to end that way. I wanted to, at the very least, try to get myself back in the match and make it competitive. And I think being able to do that, I was able to change the momentum."

With the comeback complete, Keys suddenly finds herself among the best positioned to emerge from the bottom half. But as Wimbledon has shown time and again, that guarantees nothing. With that in mind, here's the best case to be made for each of the eight players still chasing a spot in the final from the bottom half, including Noskova, Mertens, Keys and Eala.

No. 9 Linda Noskova

• 2026 Berlin Champion
• 8-1 on grass this season

No. 12 Marta Kostyuk

• 19-1 in last 20 matches
• Defeated Nottingham finalist Emma Navarro in the third round

No. 13 Jasmine Paolini

• 2024 Wimbledon finalist
• Making her third straight Wimbledon fourth-round appearance

No. 21 Marie Bouzkova

• 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinalist
• 2026 Nottingham champion'

No. 25 Elise Mertens

• Two-time Wimbledon doubles champion
• 2025 's-Hertogenbosch champion

No. 26 Madison Keys

• Lone remaining Grand Slam singles champion in the half
• Four career grass-court titles

No. 29 Alexandra Eala

• 2026 Birmingham WTA 125 champion
• 12-3 on grass this season

(Q) Ashlyn Krueger

• Has won her last 11 matches
• Playing with house money: Lowest-ranked player remaining; into her first Grand Slam second week

Noskova delivers in one of many third-round three-setters

As promised, a briefing on Noskova's third-round victory: After dropping the opening set, the Czech stormed back to force a decider. She again found herself on the cusp of exiting the All England Club, down match point in the third set, but saved it and converted her fourth match point to pull out a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9) win over Sorana Cirstea in 2 hours and 16 minutes.

"This was such a tough match," Noskova said in her on-court interview. "All the ups and downs. "Sorana, she's a hell of a fighter. We've had a lot of matches now and none of them were easy, so I was expecting a tough battle like this. But yeah, I'm so, so happy."

It marked the fifth meeting between the two in 2026 alone. Cirstea had her way in the first four, holding a 3-1 record, but Noskova got the last laugh (for now), earning the victory in what is expected to be the Romanian's final Wimbledon match as she nears retirement at the end of the season.

It was one of seven three-setters across Friday and Saturday. Those matches featured a little bit of everything, from escapes by top seeds -- see No. 7 seed Coco Gauff defeating Claire Liu -- to more match-tiebreak drama -- No. 11 Belinda Bencic over No. 19 Anna Kalinskaya -- and more seeded players going at it -- No. 16 Iva Jovic getting the better of No. 18 Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Last but not least: Superlatives

The longest match of the third round came courtesy of Bouzkova's defeat of Liudmila Samsonova, who hit 61 winners and 52 unforced errors in a 3-hours, 25-minute loss. Not only was it the longest match of the round -- and of the tournament -- it was the fifth-longest women's singles match at Wimbledon since 2001.

On the flip side, both Krueger (59 minutes over Daria Snigur) and No. 4 Jessica Pegula (52 minutes over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro) maximized their joint slay, finishing their third-round wins in under an hour. For reference, the first set of Eala vs. Swiatek lasted 1 hour and 24 minutes on its own.

The best match of the third round? Take your pick. There was no shortage of options. Ultimately, Bencic's 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) win over Kalinskaya gets the nod over Bouzkova vs. Samsonova thanks to the slightly higher overall quality of play and the back-and-forth drama of the final set and match tiebreak.

The best quote belongs to Eala, who once again made history for the Philippines. Already the first Filipina to reach the third round of a Grand Slam, Eala is now the first from her country to advance to the second week of a Major. In her on-court interview, she let herself feel everything.

"I'm really emotional," she said, tearing up. "Maybe for someone like Iga, who's won so many Slams, or maybe for someone like Serena or Venus, this achievement may seem small. But for someone who grew up in the Philippines -- I went to train with my brother and my grandfather every day after school, with my ruffled socks and light-up shoes and chubby cheeks -- to her this is everything.

"But because I'm emotional does not mean I'm satisfied. So next round, let's go!"

Last but not least on this Fourth of July, the fourth-round "Match to Watch" goes to the entirety of Sunday's slate. Look at this card: No. 10 Karolina Muchova vs. Barbora Krejcikova (now the only former Wimbledon champion left in the draw), a battle of four-time Grand Slam champions in No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 14 Naomi Osaka, Pegula vs. Jovic and the renewed rivalry of Gauff and Bencic.