Fresh off a comeback for the ages to eliminate Paula Badosa on Wednesday, Elena Rybakina takes on Sofia Kenin in Thursday's Dubai Tennis Championships quarter-final, aiming to advance to the WTA 1000 semis.
The Kazakhstani player saved six match points in the thrilling two-hour 49-minute third-round success over the ninth seed to end a four-match losing run against top-10 players, and she seeks another triumph over an American opponent who got the better of injured defending champion Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.
Match preview
Rybakina would have been forgiven for accepting another defeat against a top-10 opponent when she was down 6-3 in the second-set tie-break against Badosa after losing the opening set; however, the eight-time WTA champion dug deep to save six match points to edge the second-set shootout 10-8 and claim the decider.
The unanticipated turnaround was the first time that any player on the women's tour had survived as many match points this season, and it was timely for the former world No. 4 player, who went into her Badosa match-up on a four-match losing sequence against elite opponents, falling to Paolini and Qinwen Zheng at the WTA Finals and twice to Iga Swiatek in 2025 at the United Cup and recently in Doha last week.
The 25-year-old had appeared sulky on the eve of her third-round match in Dubai, unhappy with the handling of Stefano Vukov's ban and the lack of support from her colleagues, but looked undeterred in the thrilling 4-6, 7-6(8), 7-6(2) turnaround against Badosa.
Having secured a third consecutive win over the Spanish player, moving level 4-4 in their head-to-head from 4-1 down, the Kazakhstani player aims to notch a third straight victory over Thursday's opponent.
Without a title since last year's success in Stuttgart and winless at a 1000 event since claiming the Italian Open two years back, Rybakina aims to redirect any grievance felt into a potential third 1000 success and ninth crown overall this week.
Standing in the path of the 2022 Wimbledon champion is 2020 Australian Open winner Kenin, who ended Paolini's six-match winning sequence in Dubai in 64 minutes, sealing a 6-4, 6-0 success.
Although the Italian was encumbered by an ankle injury at the start of the second set, minimising the fourth seed's chances of a turnaround, the 26-year-old still needed to take advantage and will be pleased with this week's run at the Middle East tournament.
By claiming a third win on the trot at the event, Kenin not only improved to 3-0 against Paolini, but she is now on a three-match winning streak at the tournament after entering this year's main draw on a five-match losing sequence, having last won against Daria Kasatkina in 2019.
The American has now taken down opponents in the top 30 in rounds one and two — Donna Vekic (No. 20) and Marta Kostyuk (No. 21) — before getting the better of world No. 4 Paolini in round three; she bids for consecutive wins over top-10 players since 2023 when she beat Aryna Sabalenka in Rome before stunning Coco Gauff in the opening round at Wimbledon.
On her longest winning streak since reaching last year's championship match in Tokyo in October, Kenin hopes to benefit from her ongoing momentum to snap her losing run against Rybakina.
Tournament so far
Elena Rybakina:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Moyuka Uchijima 6-3 6-2
Third round: vs. Paula Badosa 4-6 7-6[8] 7-6[2]
Sofia Kenin:
First round: vs. Donna Vekic 7-5 6-3
Second round: vs. Marta Kostyuk 5-7 7-6[7] 7-6[5]
Third round: vs. Jasmine Paolini 6-4 6-0
Head To Head
Indian Wells (2023) - Round of 64: Rybakina 7-6(6) 7-6(5)
Dubai (2020) - Round of 32: Rybakina 6-7(2) 6-3 6-3
Although Rybakina leads their head-to-head 2-0, neither success has been straightforward, with the sixth seed triumphing in the pair's first encounter in Dubai in three sets and Indian Wells in two; however, the former lasted two hours, while the latter went on for two hours and eight minutes.
The Kazakhstani needed to stave off four of five break point opportunities the 2020 Aussie Open champion created in their Dubai second-round match five years back and five of seven three years later.
Contrarily, Rybakina had more joy on the Kenin serve, breaking four times in 2020's Middle East event and twice in their second match-up.
We say: Rybakina to win in two sets
Although Kenin's adeptness at finding angles to make opponents uncomfortable should trouble Rybakina, the sixth seed is expected to overpower the American with her serve and powerful groundstrokes to edge a tight two-setter on Thursday, potentially setting up a Swiatek semi-final.
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