Sabalenka and Rybakina crash out early at China Open
World number two Aryna Sabalenka was knocked out of the China Open in the third round by Czech underdog Nikola Bartunkova, a day after top seed Elena Rybakina also suffered a shock defeat.
Shock exits for the top two seeds
Aryna Sabalenka, the world number two, was eliminated from the China Open in Beijing after losing 6-4, 6-3 to 34th-ranked Czech player Nikola Bartunkova in the third round on Sunday. The match lasted one hour and 35 minutes, during which Bartunkova served four aces.
It was the second blow in as many days for the tournament's leading contenders: a day earlier, top seed Elena Rybakina was eliminated in the second round. According to the BBC, Rybakina lost to Armenian world number 118 Alina Charaeva, while Al Jazeera and France 24 describe her opponent as Russia's Alena Charaeva — the sources disagree on both the player's nationality and the spelling of her name. Rybakina had beaten Sabalenka in last month's US Open final and taken over the world number one ranking from her.
According to the BBC, this marks the first time since 2015 that the tournament's top two seeds have both failed to reach the round of 16 in Beijing.
A frustrating afternoon for Sabalenka
Sabalenka, 28, struggled to convert chances throughout the match, squandering five break points in the sixth game of the first set as Bartunkova defended well and hit deep groundstrokes. She switched to a cap in the eighth game as players alternated between sun and shade. Trailing by a break in the fourth game of the second set, Sabalenka threw her racket in frustration, and the match ended when she sent a return into the net on Bartunkova's first match point.
"I focused on myself, to be calm. She's a legend, so I'm really happy that I won the match," said 20-year-old Bartunkova, who next faces Austria's Sinja Kraus in the round of 16.
Per the BBC, Sabalenka has not won a title since her "Sunshine Double" at Indian Wells and Miami in March, and will end the year without a Grand Slam trophy for the first time since 2022.
Elsewhere at the tournament
In the women's draw, French Open champion Mirra Andreeva advanced to face Ukraine's Daria Snigur, while Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova beat Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-1 and will next play Ekaterina Alexandrova. In the men's event, Daniil Medvedev reached the semifinals by beating Francisco Cerundolo, and Hubert Hurkacz advanced past Karen Khachanov to face Alex de Minaur, who defeated Andrey Rublev. Top seed Alexander Zverev was due to play Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals later on Sunday, with Djokovic carrying an unbeaten run in Beijing.
