Elena Rybakina stepped onto the match court Tuesday for the first time since lifting the Australian Open trophy, and while her play wasn’t always perfect, the flashes of dominance were unmistakable as she extended her winning streak to eight.
Doha: Scores | Draws | Order of play
After trailing 4-2 in the second set, the World No. 3 won the final four games to close out a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Wang Xinyu in 1 hour and 20 minutes, sealing the win with one last break of serve to reach the third round in Doha.
The result marks a significant milestone for Rybakina: her 400th career match win.
“That’s a nice statistic,” Rybakina said in her on-court interview. “It’s a lot of matches played. But yeah, it’s incredible. I’m just happy again that I can play and feel happy. I’m just enjoying every time I’m playing now on the court.”
It’s also her third straight win in as many meetings with Wang on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, all of them in straight sets.
There was a brief bit of doubt that this match would follow the same pattern as their previous encounters. After dropping the first set, Wang was the first to break for a 3-2 lead in the second. She consolidated in a seven-deuce game, saving four break points, but despite the missed chances, Rybakina didn’t waver.
She saved a break point of her own in the next game with a forehand winner, one of many second-serve points she won throughout the match. She won five of eight such points in the first set and finished 10 of 20 overall, which proved to be a key factor in the result.
Rybakina sealed the hold for 4-3 with a backhand winner for 4-3, punished a Wang second serve with another forehand winner to break for 4-4 and held again to take a 5-4 lead. One final forehand winner forced deuce and that was all she wrote.
The No. 2 seed will face Zheng Qinwen in the third round after the former Olympic gold medalist defeated her second straight American opponent in Alycia Parks in her return to action. Rybakina is 2-1 against Zheng, though she lost their most recent meeting at the 2024 WTA Finals in three sets.