The Belgian 25th seed produced one of the biggest upsets of the tournament on Court One to book her place in the fourth round, ending Rybakina's hopes of adding a second Wimbledon title to the Australian Open crown she claimed earlier this year.

Rybakina, the world No. 2, fought through a closely contested opening set before Mertens took control of the match, racing through the second set to seal a memorable victory.

The defeat continues a disappointing run for the Kazakhstan star at the All England Club, where she has now failed to progress beyond the third round in each of her last two appearances following her title triumph in 2022.

Despite the setback, Rybakina insisted she would quickly turn her attention to the remainder of the season.

"I just try to move on. I mean, I lost so many times. I'm sure I'm still going to keep losing. It's impossible to win everything," she said.

"Not the result I wanted today. Definitely not happy. I'm of course upset, but it's not going to take more than one, two days."

The 27-year-old also admitted she will reassess her game ahead of the North American hard-court swing, which culminates with the US Open.

Mertens, meanwhile, reaches the Wimbledon fourth round for the fourth time in her career and will face Czech 21st seed Marie Bouzkova for a place in the quarter-finals.

"Definitely one of my most memorable wins, especially against her here at Wimbledon," Mertens said.

"I really grew into the match. I soaked it all in today on Court One. It's a beautiful court to play at."

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