Eva Lys Upsets Elena Rybakina in China Open

BEIJING, China — Eva Lys celebrated a career milestone on Sunday by upsetting No. 8 seed Elena Rybakina 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 at the China Open. The match lasted 2 hours and 14 minutes and propelled Lys into her first WTA 1000 fourth round.

This victory marked the first time the 23-year-old German defeated a top-10 player. After the match, a thrilled Lys expressed her joy, saying, “I’ve already outdone myself. Being in the fourth round for the first time is a nice feeling, so I’m just enjoying everything. I’m enjoying the fans, the good, big courts — I’m just really happy.”

Key moments in the match included Lys taking a 4-3 lead in the first set after holding at love. After several breaks, she converted a crucial break point to edge ahead 5-3 and secured the opening set. In the second set, Rybakina quickly claimed a 2-0 lead before Lys broke back. However, Rybakina won the final four games to set up a deciding set.

During a tense third set, momentum shifted back and forth. After being broken to go down 4-3, Lys responded with a break of her own and won the last three games to seal the surprising victory.

The statistics showed a closely contested match, with Lys winning 95 points and Rybakina slightly trailing with 94. Both players converted seven break points, but Rybakina’s 50 unforced errors proved costly in the end.

Next, Lys will face McCartney Kessler in the fourth round. Having previously beaten Kessler in their only meeting last year, Lys aims to secure her spot in the WTA 1000 quarterfinals and a likely position in the top 50 rankings.

In a separate match, Kessler advanced after Barbora Krejcikova retired in the third set due to a knee injury. Krejcikova started strong but eventually decided to withdraw while trailing 1-6, 7-5, 3-0.