Charaeva stuns World No. 1 Rybakina at China Open

World No. 118 Alina Charaeva pulled off one of the most shocking upsets on the WTA Tour after defeating newly crowned World No. 1 Elena Rybakina, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, in the second round of the China Open on Oct. 3, 2026, at the National Tennis Center in Beijing.

Twenty days after winning her third Grand Slam title, Rybakina was favored to make another stellar run on the WTA Tour, but the Armenian ace had other plans, bringing out her best tennis to eliminate the top seed.

It was Rybakina who drew first blood in the slugfest, picking up where she left off from her championship campaign at the US Open. After breaking Charaeva in the fifth game to seize a 4-2 advantage, the No. 1 seed steamrolled her way through a 2-1 closing run to move a set away from advancing to the next round.

However, a massive turn of events took place in the next two sets as Charaeva flipped the switch by playing a more consistent defensive game from the baseline, forcing Rybakina to commit a series of unforced errors that piled up throughout the match.

Despite Rybakina securing an early break in the second game for a 2-1 lead, Charaeva responded with a break of her own, followed by another hold to regain her footing.

Aside from her improved defensive game, Charaeva also flaunted a tactical approach, moving Rybakina from side to side while scoring on several clinical drop shots.

A late break steered Charaeva to a blistering finish, capped by a hold that leveled the tense second-round matchup at one set apiece.

From being defensive and relying on absorbing Rybakina’s raw power, Charaeva showed another dimension to her game after unleashing several down-the-line backhand winners whenever the top seed stormed the net.

The tactical approach was perfectly maintained, resulting in a clean performance with only four unforced errors in the third set.

Charaeva put Rybakina under immense pressure with a break in the fifth game, then held serve to take a 4-2 lead before completing the upset with two more holds.

Awaiting Charaeva in the Round of 32 is Sonay Kartal, who earlier swept World No. 31 Wang Xinyu, 6-3, 6-2.