Having delivered a promising performance and becoming Australia Open 2026 champion, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina continues her winning streak in the ongoing Qatar Open.
On Tuesday, February 10, the second seed defeated China’s Wang Xinyu in the Round of 32 match by sets of 6-2, 6-4 in her opening match of the tournament. The two-time Grand Slam champion will be heading next against China’s Qinwen Zheng in the Round of 16 match scheduled on Wednesday, February 11.
In the opening set, the Kazakhstani star and Wang were first tied at 2-2, with both looking to dominate against each other. However, emerging through that, Rybakina goes on to score four straight points and secures the lead in the first set and wins it by 6-2. Having lost the opening set, Wang looked more confident in the second and got the breakthrough after leading the game by 4-2.
Meanwhile, Rybakina, through her calm and composed performance, got another four straight points to finish the match and win in two straight sets. This was Rybakina and Wang’s third meeting in a tournament. Head-to-head, the Kazakhstani currently leads over the Chinese player by 3-0. Meanwhile, Rybakina’s record this season is now up to 10-1.
Entering the WTA 1000 tournament in Doha, Rybakina did not carry much expectation or was under pressure to perform well. She had also recovered from a cold after becoming Australia Open 2026 champion.
After her opening game victory in Doha, the Kazakhstani, during an interview, said, “Hopefully this week is going to be as good in Australia, but if not we have so many tournaments ahead, and there are big ones, so we’ll try to work on things and get good results. I think the matches are the best practices also at the end of the day. So we’ll see how I’m going to feel here and how the matches will go.”
“But again, it’s good practice, no matter what. We still try to work on some things with the team. I don’t put too much pressure or expectations, that’s for sure. I definitely want to do well, and we’ll just see how it’s going to go day by day,” she added.
Elsewhere, fourth seed Coco Gauff of America suffered a second-round exit in Doha after losing in straight sets (4-6, 2-6) to Italy’s unseeded player Elisabetta Cocciaretto on Tuesday, February 10.
Meanwhile, top-seeded Iga Świątek of Poland defeated Indonesia’s Janice Tjen by sets of 6-0, 6-3. Advancing in the Round of 16 match, the six-time Grand Slam champion will play Australia’s Daria Kasatkina, where the two will fight for a place in the quarter-final.
