Elena Rybakina was knocked out of the China Open third round at the hands of World No. 66, Eva Lys.
Rybakina’s chances of qualifying for the WTA Tour Finals at the end of the year were handed a blow after she stumbled to a three-set loss against Lys.
Lys picked up the first top 10 win of her career over Rybakina at the China Open, but a far more worrying trend continued for the Kazakh star.
The World No. 10 yet again lost a match from a winning position as she continues to struggle to get over the finishing line.
Elena Rybakina has consistently lost matches from winning positions in 2025
Rybakina’s loss against Lys was the sixth time the star has lost a match while either being a break up or having match points.
The star’s inability to see out games while in winning positions has cost her in WTA 1000 events and Grand Slams.
The World No. 10 has had a solid year, but she could have had her WTA Tour Finals status confirmed already if she could put away players.
The star suffered back-to-back semi-final exits on the American hard-court swing in Montreal and Washington, and the worrying trend has continued into the Asian swing.
It’s something the Kazakh star desperately needs to address because it’s severely hampering her form in major tournaments.
Elena Rybakina’s form shows in tournament wins in 2025
Rybakina had a terrific season in 2024, winning three tournaments and appearing in two other finals, but there’s been a significant drop-off in 2025.
The star has won just one tournament, at the WTA 500 event, Internationaux de Strasbourg, in France, which is her only final of the year.
That form has seeped into Grand Slam performances in 2025, too, as the star reached just the fourth round of the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the US Open.
She was also knocked out in the third round of Wimbledon, losing to Clara Tauson at the tournament she won in 2022.
