Armenia’s Alina Charaeva Claims Historic Victory in Beijing, Defeating World No. 1 Elena Rybakina

Alina Charaeva, representing Armenia, defeated world No. 1 Elena Rybakina 3:6, 6:4, 6:3 in the second round of the China Open in Beijing on Saturday, marking one of the most significant results in the history of Armenian tennis.

Ranked No. 118 in the world, Charaeva lost the opening set but fought back to win the next two, defeating the top-ranked player in women’s tennis.

With this victory, Charaeva achieved a remarkable milestone. According to the WTA, she became the lowest-ranked player ever to come back from a set down and defeat a reigning world No. 1. She is also only the ninth player ranked outside the world’s Top 100 to defeat a world No. 1 since the WTA rankings were introduced in 1975. The match lasted 2 hours and 11 minutes.

This was only the 17th WTA Tour main-draw match of the 24-year-old Charaeva’s career. Rybakina, representing Kazakhstan, won Wimbledon in 2022 and the Australian Open and US Open this year. She had reached world No. 1 just a few weeks earlier, on September 14, and became only the second player in WTA history to lose her first match after reaching the top of the rankings.

In July 2026, with the support of the Keron Development Foundation and the Armenian Tennis Federation, Charaeva obtained Armenian citizenship, joined Keron’s Talent Pool Program, and began representing Armenia in international tournaments.

“This is just incredible. Thank you so much for coming, and I’ll see you in the third round,” Charaeva said after the match.