Arina Rodionova becomes oldest top 100 debutant, realises at Thailand Open and cries into her towel

Australia’s tennis star Arina Rodionova has achieved an incredible milestone while playing at the Thailand Open.

The 34-year-old defeated China’s Yue Yuan in the first-round encounter of the competition with a score of 7-6, 4-6, 6-3. With that win, Rodionova cemented her place in the top 100 players in the world in the women’s singles category.

Following that victory, Rodionova burst into tears as she became the oldest player in the history of women’s tennis to enter the top 100.

The Tambov-born defeated China’s Zhuoxuan Bai in the second-round contest with a score of 3-6, 6-1, 6-0. However, her journey came to an end in the quarterfinal after losing to Zhu Lin in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3.

Earlier this year, Rodionova had a horrid beginning to her season as while playing on home soil in the Australian Open, she failed to qualify for the main round after losing in the qualifiers. Despite turning pro in 2004, Rodionova has never managed to play in the third round or beyond in any of the mega-events.

Her most notable outings came in the Australian Open in 2020 and the US Open in 2017 where she managed to qualify for the second round of the mega-event.