The reigning Wimbledon women’s champion will not secure a second consecutive grand slam title.

Barbora Krejcikova, the No. 8 seed in Flushing Meadows, was bounced in the second round Wednesday by Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse, the No. 122-ranked player in the world, in straight sets (6-4, 7-5) in the first match of the day on the Grandstand court.

No female player has captured both the Wimbledon and U.S. Open crowns in the same year since Serena Williams accomplished the feat in 2012.

“I mean, winning Wimbledon is amazing. It’s a great, great, great result, I’m very proud about it and how I was able to handle everything there,” Krejcikova said. “I think I was playing quite well, definitely better than in the first match. I think my game was improving, but it just wasn’t enough.”

In the next round, Ruse will face Spain’s Paula Badosa, who ousted 28-year-old American Taylor Townsend on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Ruse’s previous best finishes in the majors were second-round losses in New York and at the Australian Open in 2022.

“Barbora, she’s such a good player, she’s won so many matches in the last two years and it’s just a dream for me,” Ruse said.

The Czech-born Krejcikova, who also won the French Open title in 2021, has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the world.

She was the highest-ranked player on either side eliminated in this year’s tournament — and the third top-10 female, joining No. 9 Maria Sakkari (injured) and No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko.

After dropping the first set, Krejcikova appeared to get back into the match with a 5-3 lead in the second, but Ruse broke her twice and won the final four games.

“I don’t know [what happened],” said Krejcikova, who hadn’t played a tournament on hard courts since February. “I mean, things are up and down, and I didn’t serve it out, the set. And she just took over, and she won the match.”