A shocking twist unfolded at the Miami Open as world number eight, Elena Rybakina, suffers an unexpected defeat in the opening round. The Kazakh star, who has been grappling with a challenging 2025 season, faced a surprising loss to world number 40, Ashlyn Krueger.
Rybakina’s performance in Miami has been a stark contrast to her previous appearances. The 25-year-old tennis sensation had made her way to the finals in the last two editions of the Miami Open, albeit finishing as the second best on both occasions. This year, however, she stumbled at the very start, succumbing to a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to Krueger.
The American opponent managed to secure one break in the first and third sets, which proved decisive in the match’s outcome. This victory marks Krueger’s ascent into the third round of the Miami Open, where she is set to face Leylah Fernandez.
While Rybakina had previously exhibited commendable performances in 2025 with two semi-finals and one quarter-final showing, her form this season has been far from satisfactory. Her underwhelming performance against top-tier opponents was further highlighted by her defeat to Mirra Andreeva at Indian Wells, where she suffered a resounding 6-1, 6-2 loss in the round-of-16. Unfortunately, Rybakina failed to recover from this setback and continues her losing streak in Miami.
In stark contrast to Rybakina’s struggles, world number one Aryna Sabalenka put on a show of power and dominance. The top-seeded Belarusian, who had a first-round bye, made a strong start to her Miami Open campaign, crushing Viktoriya Tomova 6-3, 6-0 in her opening match.
Despite a minor hiccup where she failed to serve out for the first set after leading 5-1, Sabalenka demonstrated her prowess by winning the next seven games to secure her victory. The Belarusian star expressed her gratitude to the audience members braving the sun in her on-court interview.
As the tournament progresses, the spotlight now turns to Sabalenka’s next match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse. As Rybakina’s journey ends prematurely, fans and pundits will be keenly watching Sabalenka’s performance in the upcoming matches. Will she maintain her dominant run, or will the Miami Open continue to spring more surprises? Only time will tell.