Alina Charaeva will be Rybakina's second-round opponent at the China Open

Elena Rybakina's first opponent at the China Open in Beijing has been decided. On 1 October Alina Charaeva beat Yuliia Starodubtseva in the first round, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. As the top seed, Rybakina had a first-round bye and will start the tournament in the second round. Her match is not on the WTA order of play for Friday, 2 October: the meeting with Charaeva is expected on Saturday, 3 October, with the exact time and court to be known once that day's schedule is published. The winner will reach the third round of the WTA 1000 event. It will be Rybakina's first official match since winning the US Open: on 18 September she withdrew from the Billie Jean King Cup with a left ankle injury, and on 30 September she trained on the courts in Beijing.