Rybakina on brink of WTA Finals exit after Zheng loss

Elena Rybakina is on the cusp of becoming the first player to be eliminated from the WTA Finals after she fell to a three-set defeat by Zheng Qinwen in the group stages.

China’s Olympic champion Zheng – playing at the season-ending tournament for the first time – won 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for her first victory over the Kazakh in three attempts.

I’m really happy to win this match,” said Zheng, 22. “I’ve never beaten her before and she’s one of the greatest players right now.”

Should Aryna Sabalenka beat Jasmine Paolini later on Monday, fifth seed Rybakina will be eliminated having lost both of her matches at the Finals so far.

Belarusian Sabalenka and Italy’s Paolini are both seeking their second group stage wins of the tournament, while victory for Sabalenka would see her progress as the Purple Group winner.

The WTA Finals are being held in Saudi Arabia for the first time – a move which has been criticised by some because of the country’s human rights record.

This year’s tournament has record prize money, with the singles champion set to collect about £4m.

In the Orange Group, Jessica Pegula will face Barbora Krejcikova on Tuesday before defending champion Iga Swiatek plays Coco Gauff.

Prior to the start of the WTA Finals on Saturday, 25-year-old Rybakina had not played on tour for two months because of a combination of illness and injury, and her opening match against Paolini ended in a straight-set defeat.

The former Wimbledon champion had looked fatigued during that match but started stronger against Zheng, putting pressure on the serve early on with the Chinese seventh seed forced to save two break points early in the opening set.

Momentum then swung Zheng’s way as she sealed a first break of serve on the way to a 4-1 lead, but as her unforced error count started to creep upwards, Rybakina was able to fight back into the set by winning three successive games.