Charaeva upsets new World No. 1 Rybakina in Beijing second round

Entering the week, only one player in WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz history had lost her first match as World No. 1. Make it two after No. 118 Alina Charaeva rallied from a set down to upset Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in 2 hours and 11 minutes on Saturday night in Beijing.

Beijing: Scores | Order of play | Draws

Since the rankings were first published in 1975, Charaeva is just the ninth player outside the Top 100 to defeat the World No. 1 and the lowest-ranked player to claim a comeback win against the World No. 1.

"I don't have words honestly, playing Elena and the World No. 1, it's such a good experience," Charaeva said. "I'm really happy to manage my emotions and play my best tennis.

"I was just trying to stay really hard mentally and keep believing that at some point I could turn it around again to my side," Charaeva added on court. "And I guess I just never stopped believing."

Playing just her 17th tour-level main-draw match, the 24-year-old far surpassed the best win of her career. Her previous top-ranked victory came against No. 31 Wang Xinyu earlier this year. With the upset, Charaeva advanced to the third round of the China Open, where she will face Sonay Kartal for the first time.

She was extremely nervous coming into the match, but she made sure that she would just enjoy her time on court regardless of the result.

"Of course, I was just trying to enjoy, to not be so nervous. It wasn't possible. I was so nervous anyway," Charaeva said. "I knew if I could bring the best of myself today, I could fight her. So yeah, I'm just really happy that I could manage it."

How it happened

It was a dream start for Charaeva, who broke in the opening game thanks to four unforced errors from Rybakina. But the top seed recovered quickly and immediately earned the break back, beginning a pattern that continued into the second set.

Rybakina broke for 4-2 in the first set, followed by a break for 4-3 from Charaeva. But Rybakina answered with a backhand return winner to take a 5-3 lead, then held to love to clinch the opening set after 44 minutes.

In the second, a forehand winner gave Rybakina an early 2-1 edge before Charaeva broke right back for 2-2 with a forehand winner of her own. A few games later, a pretty backhand passing shot earned her a fourth break and sent the match to a decider.

Rybakina saved a break point and held for 2-2 in the third, but Charaeva got the break she needed at 4-2 when Rybakina missed a backhand wide. She consolidated with a love hold, and a few games later served out the match to put the finishing touches on the unlikeliest of upsets.

The result left Rybakina joining Naomi Osaka, who lost to Kristina Mladenovic in Dubai in 2019 in her first match as World No. 1, in an undesirable club.

"Obviously it was a very tough day out there," Rybakina said after the match. "There was a lot going on after the US Open victory. I didn't get a lot of chances to sleep and recover. Congratulations to Alina. She played a very good match, and I felt my foot a little bit at the end of the match. So it's time to rest a little bit and see what is next in the upcoming weeks.

"Thank you to all the fans for supporting and see you next year Beijing. Next I will take a week to rest and hopefully get my foot back to 100% so I can compete in the following tournaments to complete the 2026 season."

What it means

The victory leaves Charaeva in uncharted territory. It was her first Top 10 win in her first opportunity and sent her to the third round of a WTA 1000 event for the first time.

"It will be such a new step for me," Charaeva said. "Of course, I will be really happy to stay some more days in Beijing. I really enjoy the fans, the city and the organization."

It also sets the stage for a potential Top 100 debut, a mission that would be aided by a win in her next match. It would be the latest in a string of accomplishments this season for Charaeva, who won her first WTA 125 title in Midland in February and reached her first two tour-level quarterfinals in Hamburg and Sao Paulo.