Elena Rybakina’s shock China Open exit handed an opportunity to Aryna Sabalenka in the world No 1 battle, but the Belarusian failed to capitalise as she lost her next match.

World No 1 Rybakina fell to a stunning 6-3, 4-6, 3-6 defeat to 118th-ranked Alina Charaeva in her opening match in Beijing on Saturday.

Rybakina was playing her first match since she replaced Sabalenka as the world No 1 following her triumph at the US Open last month.

Sabalenka started her China Open campaign with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Renata Zarazua on Friday, and Rybakina’s loss presented her with a big chance to close the gap at the top of the WTA Rankings.

However, Sabalenka slumped to a disappointing 4-6, 3-6 defeat to rising Czech star Nikola Bartunkova in the third round of the WTA 1000 event on Sunday.

In her on-court interview, Bartunkova said: “I focused on myself, to be calm.

“Aryna is great. She’s a legend. She’s a Grand Slam Champion. I’m really happy I won the match.”

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Rybakina began the China Open with 9,901 points — 2,091 points clear of second-ranked Sabalenka.

The three-time Grand Slam champion’s second round exit means she has dropped 205 points, which leaves her on 9,696 points in the Live WTA Rankings.

Having started the tournament on 7,810 points, Sabalenka could not have caught Rybakina in Beijing, but she could have reduced the deficit significantly.

If Sabalenka had won the China Open, she would have moved onto 8,420 points, but her third round exit leaves her with 7,485 points as she has dropped 325 points from her result in 2025.

This puts Sabalenka 2,211 points behind Rybakina, which means she is further adrift than when the event started.

Rybakina also remains top of the Race to the WTA Finals — the ranking system that measures points collected in the current season — with 7,502 points.

Sabalenka is second in the Race with 6,550 points, putting her 952 points behind her rival.

Rybakina is still, therefore, the clear favourite to end 2026 as the world No 1, although Sabalenka still has an opportunity to catch the Kazakh in the closing stages of the campaign.

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