Elena Rybakina suffered a stunning second-round defeat at the China Open, losing to world No 118 Alina Charaeva in her first match since becoming the WTA’s top-ranked player.
Rybakina, who won the US Open last month to move to No 1 in the world, took the opening set 6-3 but was unable to maintain her advantage as Charaeva fought back to win 4-6, 6-3 in Beijing.
The 24-year-old Charaeva, representing Armenia, produced one of the biggest wins of her career by overcoming the top seed in two hours and 11 minutes. She converted five of eight break-point opportunities during the match.
The victory also created a significant piece of WTA history. Charaeva became the lowest-ranked player since the rankings began in 1975 to come from a set down and defeat a world No 1.
Rybakina had appeared in control after taking the first set, but Charaeva continued to apply pressure in the second. She secured crucial breaks and forced the match into a deciding set.
The Kazakh player then struggled to regain momentum in the third set. Charaeva broke for 4-2 before holding her serve and eventually closing out the biggest victory of her career.
Rybakina had entered the China Open after a demanding period that included her US Open title. She had also withdrawn from Kazakhstan’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals campaign, citing the physically demanding schedule.
After the match, Rybakina acknowledged that it had been a difficult day and praised Charaeva for her performance. She also said she felt her foot towards the end of the match and planned to take some time to recover.
Charaeva will now face Britain’s Sonay Kartal in the third round. The victory marks her first win over a top-10 player and sends her into the latter stages of a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time.
For Rybakina, the early exit is a disappointing start to her reign as world No 1, while Charaeva leaves Beijing with one of the most notable upsets of the 2026 season.