Rybakina Saves Six Match Points To Overcome Badosa In Dubai Blockbuster
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Elena Rybakina completed an unthinkable comeback in the third round of the 2025 Dubai Championships. She beat Paula Badosa despite facing six match points.
Rybakina and Badosa met in one of the most exciting third-round matches at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai. They had met plenty of times before, so with both players knowing each other, fans had a reason to be excited for an entertaining match, and it was a really entertaining match.
Unfortunately for some of the fans, this match was scheduled only on Court 1 and not on the Center Court, but that didn't stop the players from delivering a show.
Rybakina was the better player early on. She led 3-0 after breaking her opponent's serve, but it didn't take long before Badosa was able to strike back and level the score at 3-3.
The Spaniard then even had three break point to go into the lead for the first time in this match, but she couldn't use her chances. A couple of games later, however, Badosa broke Rybakina's serve, and after saving two break points on her serve in the following game, the Spanish player won the first set of the match 6-4.
The match got really interesting in the second set. Again, both players were able to break each other and enjoyed a momentary lead. Rybakina got into the lead at 4-3, increasing her advantage to 5-3 with a break.
But when the Kazakhstani player was serving for the set, she was broken. Still, Rybakina found her way to two set points on Badosa's serve, but the Spaniard saved both.
That meant a tie-break had to decide the second set, and like the set, it was dramatic. Badosa led 6-3 and 8-7, having a total of four match points, but that was not enough for her to win this match.
Rybakina refused to give up. She saved all of the match points and won the tie-break 10-8 to force a third set. And the drama continued.
After winning the second set, the 2022 Wimbledon champion had an excellent start into the third set, immediately breaking to lead 2-0. She then held her serve without facing any break points, and it seemed like she was cruising to a win.
But at 5-4 and 30-15, the Kazakhstani player suddenly stopped producing. Badosa won eight points in a row. She not only leveled the score, but the Spanish player soon led 6-5 and 40-15 with two more match points.
Again, Rybakina saved both, and she decided the match in yet another tie-break to win it 4-6, 7-6(8), 7-6(2) in two hours and 51 minutes.
It was an incredibly hard-fought win for Rybakina, who will play against Sofia Kenin in the quarter-finals of the tournament. For Badosa, on the other hand, it was a devastating loss.
