BEIJING: World No.1 Elena Rybakina could not regroup and fell to 118th-ranked Alina Charaeva in the second round of the China Open on Saturday in Beijing.
The 27-year-old from Kazakhstan was playing her first match since seizing the top ranking on her US Open win in New York, but Armenia's Charaeva triumphed 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a clinical comeback.
"I don't have words," said Charaeva, who is making her Beijing debut.
"This is incredible," the 24-year-old said.
"She's (an) amazing player, and for me it's kind of just dream come true," she said of Rybakina.
