Elena Rybakina continues her incredible form and has begun her Qatar Open campaign with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Lin Zhu to reach the Last 16 in Doha. She has been utterly sublime in the past week and unlike Daria Kasatkina who failed after returning from Abu Dhabi, an extra day off seemed to do the trick.
Rybakina likes the conditions in the Middle East and never looked troubled against the Chinese star. With her aggression and being prone to errors a lot more as a result and having to battle from the baseline was always going to be the issue as Rybakina breezed through the opening set 6-2. Outside of playing bad at the Australian Open which can be slightly down to playing two weeks prior also, Rybakina has alongside Jelena Ostapenko took a march in winning titles outside of the Grand Slams this year.
In some of her best form, she was even more impressive in the second set in six minutes less than the first. Rybakina finished with seven aces and only lost three points behind her first serve as she she blasted through 6-1. She did not face a single break point the entire match and converted four out of seven. In the end, it was a 6-2, 6-1 win and next is Emma Navarro.
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.