World No. 118 Alina Charaeva produced one of the biggest upsets of the WTA season, rallying from a set down to defeat newly-crowned World No. 1 Elena Rybakina in three sets at the China Open in Beijing on Saturday night. The result sent shockwaves through the women's draw and rewrote a record that has stood since WTA rankings were first published in 1975.

Historic Scoreline and Record Books

Charaeva defeated Rybakina 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in 2 hours and 11 minutes in the night match. With the win, she became just the ninth player outside the Top 100 to defeat the World No. 1 in the Open Era — and, notably, the lowest-ranked player ever to claim a comeback victory against the reigning top seed. Her previous best win had come against No. 31 Wang Xinyu earlier this year.

Charaeva on Her Breakthrough Moment

'It's kind of a dream come true,' Charaeva said in her post-match interview. 'I was just trying to stay really hard mentally and keep believing that at some point I could turn it around again to my side. And I guess I just never stopped believing.'

The 24-year-old was playing just her 17th tour-level main-draw match, making the achievement all the more remarkable. The win advances her to the third round of the China Open, where she will face Sonay Kartal for the first time. A victory there would also push Charaeva into the Top 100 — a milestone that appeared distant just weeks ago.

A Season Already Full of Firsts

The Beijing upset is the latest in a remarkable run for Charaeva in 2026. She claimed her first WTA 125 title in Midland in February and reached her first two tour-level quarterfinals in Hamburg and São Paulo. Each step has pushed her further up the rankings and closer to the sport's elite tier.

Zheng Advances as Kalinskaya Retires

In the other notable result of the day, China's Zheng Qinwen advanced to the third round after Russia's Anna Kalinskaya retired while trailing 3-0 in the deciding set. Playing in front of a packed Diamond Court, Zheng took the second set 6-4 to level the match after Kalinskaya had claimed the first-set tiebreak 7-6 (4).

Olympic champion Zheng broke early in the third set before Kalinskaya, 27, called for a medical timeout and ultimately withdrew from the match. 'Kalinskaya returns very fast and flat, and her backhand is quite strong. So, the first set was not easy for me as I missed some break points and got a little bit emotional,' Zheng said. She added: 'In the third set, I adjusted myself to take a three-game lead. I believe I can win, though seeing her withdraw from the match is not the result that I expected.'

What to Watch Next

Charaeva's third-round clash against Kartal will be closely watched as she seeks both a place in the last sixteen and a potential debut inside the Top 100. Zheng, meanwhile, will look to carry home-crowd momentum deeper into the draw. The China Open continues to deliver drama in the early rounds.