Elena Rybakina suffered a stunning upset at the China Open on Oct. 3, falling 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to world No. 118 Alina Charaeva in a second-round match lasting two hours and 11 minutes in Beijing. The defeat makes Rybakina just the second player in WTA Tour history to lose her opening match immediately after ascending to the world No. 1 ranking, joining Naomi Osaka.
Charaeva Rewrites Ranking History in Beijing
Alina Charaeva secured the lowest-ranked victory over a sitting world No. 1 in WTA history during the late-night encounter. The 24-year-old Armenian player dropped the opening set before mounting a comeback across the second and third sets to claim the win. Records maintained since the ranking system began in 1975 show that Charaeva is only the ninth player outside the top 100 to defeat a reigning world No. 1. She also set a distinct benchmark as the lowest-ranked player to overcome a deficit after dropping the first set against the top-ranked opponent.
Milestone Run for Charaeva
Appearing in just her 17th main draw match on the WTA Tour, Charaeva notched her first career victory against a top-10 opponent. The result marks her maiden advance to the third round of a WTA 1000 tournament. She will next face Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal, with a potential breakthrough into the top 100 of the WTA rankings depending on her progress in the next round.
Fatigue and Foot Pain Hinder Rybakina After US Open
Playing her first tournament match since climbing to the summit of women’s tennis, Rybakina struggled to sustain her early momentum after taking the first set. Following the match, Rybakina explained that she faced a difficult day on court due to a heavy schedule and a lack of adequate sleep following her US Open title run. She also noted that she began to feel slight pain in her foot during the later stages of the contest and stated that her immediate priority is achieving a full recovery for future events.
