:Kazakhstan Elena Rybakina serves to Armenia Alina Charaeva during their women singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on October 3, 2026. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP)
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.