Hey there, fellow tennis enthusiasts It’s your girl Mia Johnson-Carter here, living the dream in Miami. Today, I’m super excited to dive into some fascinating tennis news that has caught my attention lately. Let’s talk about Elena Rybakina’s disappointing campaign at the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Elena Rybakina’s chances of making it past the Round Robin stage at the WTA Finals have ended after she looked rusty and fired 40 unforced errors in a 6-7 (4) 6-3 1-6 loss to Zheng Qinwen, falling to a 0-2 record in the Purple Group. This loss marks the end of her hopes for advancing beyond the group stage.
On Monday, the 2022 Wimbledon champion needed to secure victory to stay alive in Riyadh. Despite competing well and having a tight matchup throughout, Rybakina ultimately lost in three sets. At one point, she was down by a set and a break and appeared to be heading toward a straight-set defeat. However, she managed to clinch four games in a row to take the second set and force a decider, where she ultimately failed to complete a comeback.
Rybakina’s rustiness on the court isn’t surprising given that this is her first tournament since the US Open. Just a couple of days earlier, she blasted a stunning 48 unforced errors in a tight 6-7 (5) 4-6 loss to Jasmine Paolini. Her performance has raised concerns about her current form and preparation for such high-level competitions.
Zheng Qinwen, who now owns a 1-1 record, will take on Paolini in her last group match. On the other side, Rybakina will play Aryna Sabalenka in a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open final. The upcoming matches will be crucial for both players as they look to salvage what’s left of their campaigns.
In their recent match, Rybakina and Zheng Qinwen had a closely contested first set. Two breaks were seen, each coming after a double fault on a break point. The Chinese earned the first break in the third game but the Kazakh got it back in the seventh game. Early in the tie-break, Rybakina won the opening point and had two serves. However, she made a series of unforced errors in the next couple of points as Zheng went 4-1 up before realizing her second set point a few points later to win a tight opener.
After sealing the first set, Zheng also took Rybakina’s serve in the fifth game and had a 30/0 lead on her own service in the following game for a 4-2 lead. But then, something stunning happened as the Chinese lost that game from 30/0 up and she ended up losing the next three games and the set. At the start of the third set, Zheng survived a very tight first game on her serve before winning five consecutive games from 1-1 to seal her first WTA Finals win and avoid what would have been a devastating loss.
If you want, you can check out the news where I found it [here](https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/On_the_WTA_results_with/149538/wta-finals-elena-rybakina-loses-after-thirdset-collapse-out-in-group-stage-/).
Yours truly,
Mia
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