Alina Charaeva, ranked No. 118, rallied from a set down to beat world No. 1 Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in 2 hours and 11 minutes in the China Open second round in Beijing on Saturday. It was Rybakina’s first match since she won the U.S. Open and took over the top ranking.
Alina Charaeva’s historic upset
The result is rare. Rybakina became only the second woman to lose her first match as world No. 1, according to the WTA. Naomi Osaka is the other.
Alina Charaeva also made her own piece of history. Reuters reported that she is the lowest-ranked player since the WTA rankings began in 1975 to come back from a set down to beat the top-ranked player.
The 24-year-old was playing only her 17th tour-level main-draw match. The win was her first over a top-10 opponent and sends her to the third round of a WTA 1000 event for the first time. It was also the first meeting between the two players.
How Charaeva turned the match around
Rybakina took the opening set 6-3, but Alina Charaeva leveled the match with a 6-4 second set after recovering from a break down. She broke Rybakina’s serve four times in the match, converting five of eight break points, and won 76% of the points behind her first serve.
Rybakina’s serve struggled throughout, as she hit seven double faults. Charaeva held serve to close out the third set 6-3 and finish the upset.
The ranking gap makes the finish even more striking. Alina Charaeva sat 117 places below Rybakina in the standings, yet she dictated the final two sets and won the biggest match of her career.
“It’s kind of a dream come true,” Charaeva said afterward. She added that she “just never stopped believing.”
Rybakina’s tough return to the tour
Rybakina, 27, beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the U.S. Open final on Sept. 12. The victory gave her a third Grand Slam title and the No. 1 ranking for the first time in her career. She had also beaten Sabalenka in the Australian Open final earlier this year.
That New York final was a tight one. Rybakina converted just three of 12 break-point chances, but Sabalenka made 35 unforced errors, including 14 in the opening set. The win ended Sabalenka’s bid for a third straight U.S. Open title and made Rybakina the new top-ranked player, replacing Sabalenka.
Beijing was her first chance to play as the top-ranked player, and it ended in the second round. It is not the only early exit that has stung her this season. Rybakina was also stunned by Yuliia Starodubtseva in the second round of the French Open, days after she had cruised past Veronika Erjavec in the opening round.
What’s next for Alina Charaeva
Alina Charaeva will face Britain’s Sonay Kartal in the third round on Monday, Oct. 5. The two have never met on tour. Kartal, ranked No. 129, beat 31st seed Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour and 20 minutes to get there.
Kartal is coming off a convincing win of her own. She won 55% of return points against Wang and broke serve three times in the second set, closing the match on her first match point after a 15-shot rally. That form should make her a tough test for a player still riding the high of the biggest win of her career.
With the win over Rybakina, Alina Charaeva could move toward a debut in the top 100 of the rankings. The upset also gives her a big confidence boost for a matchup that suddenly looks winnable. For more, see our tennis coverage.
