Sep 26, 2023 at 12:25 Update: 2 hours ago
Arantxa Rus was eliminated on Tuesday in her first round match at the WTA tournament in Ningbo, China. The 32-year-old Dutchwoman missed two match points and ultimately lost to the Russian Kamilla Rakhimova in three sets: 6-3, 6-7 (5) and 3-6.
The sixth-seeded Russian (WTA-51) started strongly against Rakhimova, who is 26 places lower in the world rankings. In the first set, the South Holland player broke her opponent at 2-1. After that she never relinquished the lead.
Rus took a 5-2 lead in the second set and got two match points, but could not use them. Rakhimova fought back into the match and won the tiebreak. In the third act, Rus’ resistance was broken. Rakhimova struck her first match point after almost 2.5 hours.
With the loss in Ningbo, Rus experiences her fourth defeat in a row in singles. Her last victories date back to the beginning of August at the ITF tournament in Gran Canaria.
Rus is having the best tennis year of her career. She won her first WTA title in July by beating the German Noha Akugue at the clay court tournament in Hamburg. She dedicated this emotional victory to her father, who passed away this spring.
Image: AP
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