Sabalenka loses to Bartunkova at China Open; Rybakina withdraws from Wuhan with foot injury

World number two Aryna Sabalenka has been eliminated from the China Open after losing 6-4 6-3 to Nikola Bartunkova of the Czech Republic, the BBC and Reuters report.

Her defeat came a day after world number one Elena Rybakina was also knocked out of the tournament. Rybakina has since withdrawn from this month's Wuhan Open because of a foot injury. The withdrawal was made public on Sunday 4 October 2026.

What is reported

According to Reuters, Sabalenka lost in the third round in Beijing on Sunday. Reuters also reports that Rybakina's defeat came in her opening match, and that tournament organisers announced her Wuhan withdrawal on Sunday.

According to the BBC, Rybakina, the top seed, was beaten by Alina Charaeva, described as the Armenian world number 118. The BBC reports that Rybakina confirmed her withdrawal in an Instagram post less than 24 hours after her China Open exit. The Wuhan Open is scheduled for 12 to 18 October, the BBC says.

The BBC reports that Bartunkova is 20 years old and ranked 34th, and will face Austria's Sinja Kraus next. It says Sabalenka failed to convert any of her five break points and threw her racquet after falling a break down early in the second set.

According to the BBC, this is the first time since 2015 that the top two seeds have failed to reach the round of 16 at the China Open, a WTA 1,000 tournament.

The BBC also reports that Rybakina beat Sabalenka in last month's US Open final and replaced her as world number one. It says Sabalenka has not won a title since March, when she won Indian Wells and the Miami Open, and will finish the year without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2022.

What each side says

BBC Sport quoted Bartunkova as saying: "I focused on myself, to be calm. She's a legend, so I'm really happy that I won the match".

In her Instagram post, as quoted by BBC Sport, Rybakina wrote: "I'm very sorry to the fans who were looking forward to seeing me play". She added: "I'll take some time to rest and recover. Thank you for your understanding and continued support."

What the reports do not include

The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include any comment from Sabalenka. They do not describe the nature or severity of Rybakina's injury, when it occurred, whether it affected her China Open match, or how long she expects to be out. They do not give the score of her defeat by Charaeva.

Most match details come from the BBC alone. Only summaries of the Reuters reports were available.

Other results

According to the BBC, Linda Noskova beat Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic 6-2 6-1 in 56 minutes. Japanese 12th seed Naomi Osaka reached the fourth round by beating Czech player Sara Bejlek 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.

Analysis

The early exits of both top seeds leave the China Open draw without its two highest-ranked players, which could give lower-ranked players such as Bartunkova a chance to go further. Whether that happens depends on results still to come. Rybakina's withdrawal from Wuhan raises questions the reports do not answer, including how serious her foot injury is and when she might return. Her absence could affect the contest for the number one ranking, but the reports give no points figures, so any such effect is uncertain. For Sabalenka, the BBC's account of a run without a title since March provides context, not an explanation, for this defeat.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.