Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships was full of upsets, as reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, defending champion Belinda Bencic, and 2017 and 2018 tournament titlist Elina Svitolina all fell in the first round.
Just two days after playing the St. Petersburg final and a day after making a Top 20 debut, Elena Rybakina continues her astonishing season by eliminating fresh Melbourne champion Sofia Kenin 6-7(2) 6-3 6-3. The Moscow-born Kazakh Rybakina leads the tour in three-set wins this year, having won all seven deciders she’s played so far.