04/10/2026
2 big ladies upsets:
🔥 SO, LET’S TALK ABOUT “LOSING TO LOWER-RANKED PLAYERS.”
Elena Rybakina—the newly crowned World No. 1 and reigning US Open champion—has just lost her first match since reaching the top of the rankings.
Her opponent?
Alina Charaeva. World No. 118.
Rybakina won the first set, but Charaeva fought back to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in Beijing. It was Charaeva’s first-ever Top 20 victory and, according to Reuters, the lowest-ranked player to come back from a set down and defeat a world No. 1 since the WTA rankings began in 1975.
And NO—this isn't a post to bash Rybakina. Far from it.
This is a reminder for those who are so quick to bash Alex Eala every time she loses to someone ranked below her.
THIS IS TENNIS.
Rankings tell you where a player has been based on accumulated results.
They do NOT determine who is going to win a particular match.
A World No. 1 can lose to No. 118.
A Top 20 player can lose to No. 180.
A Grand Slam champion can lose after winning the opening set.
And sometimes, the lower-ranked player simply plays better tennis on that day.
That's exactly what happened to Alex in Singapore.
Alex entered the Singapore Open ranked No. 18 and as the No. 3 seed. Tatiana Prozorova was ranked No. 180. Alex won the first set and even led 4-2 in the second, but Prozorova responded with aggressive, confident tennis and eventually won 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. The WTA noted that Prozorova hit 52 winners—more than twice Alex's 24—and secured the biggest win of her career.
Was Alex perfect? No.
Was there room for criticism and analysis? Absolutely.
But saying “She shouldn't lose to someone ranked that low” completely misses what competitive tennis actually is.
If ranking alone decided matches, there would be no upsets.
Look at Rybakina today.
World No. 1.
Three-time Grand Slam champion.
Fresh off winning the US Open.
And she lost to World No. 118.
That doesn't suddenly make Rybakina a bad player.
And Alex losing to No. 180 doesn't suddenly erase everything she has accomplished either.
In fact, Alex has already shown the other side of this equation—she has beaten players ranked significantly above her, including Rybakina herself when Rybakina was World No. 2 in Berlin earlier this year.
That's the beautiful—and brutal—truth about tennis:
Your ranking gives you a number.
Your reputation gives you expectations.
But once the match starts, none of them can hit the ball for you.
So before throwing another “How can Alex lose to that player?” comment…
Remember Beijing.
If the World No. 1 can lose to World No. 118, then maybe it's time to stop treating every Alex Eala loss to a lower-ranked opponent like some kind of disgrace.
Analyze the match.
Talk about the weaknesses.
Demand improvement.
But respect the sport enough to understand that an upset is part of the game—not proof that a player's entire career is suddenly falling apart.
Rankings are a measurement of the past.
The match is played in the present.
And on any given day, anyone can beat anyone. 🎾🇵🇭
That's tennis.
Not excuses. Not hype. Not hate. Just the truth.
