you could write your own function, then use it like so
library(tidyverse)
make_matrix <- function(df,rownames = NULL){
my_matrix <- as.matrix(df)
if(!is.null(rownames))
rownames(my_matrix) = rownames
my_matrix
}
(my_tibble = tibble(row_name = letters[1:10], a = 1:10, b = 11:20, c = 21:30))
(my_matrix <- make_matrix(select(my_tibble,-row_name),
pull(my_tibble,row_name)))