Australia’s top-ranked woman Arina Rodionova is on the verge of a WTA Tour record after a stunning straight sets victory over Sofia Kenin in the second round of the Brisbane International.
After entering the tournament as a wildcard, Rodionova upset the 2020 Australian Open champion with a 7-5, 7-6 (9-7) victory on Tuesday to move within reach of a maiden top 100 berth.
At 34, the Russian-born Victorian would become the oldest player to break into the top 100 for the first time in her career.
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She currently sits at No. 113 after reaching a career-high of 112 in early December.
Rodionova had no trouble winning points off Kenin’s serve but the American was able to regain control of most of her service games, only conceding four break points out of 21.
Kenin saved a marathon 17-minute game on her serve in the second set which included 12 deuces and eight break points to Rodionova to take a 5-2 lead, but the Australian fought back to take the match into a tie-break and prevailed 9-7 to advance into the final 16.
Rodionova’s first-round win over Italian Martina Trevisan on Sunday was her first victory against a top-50 opponent in almost four years.
It came after she won seven singles titles on the second-tier ITF circuit in 2023 to move from outside the top 300 following a wrist injury to her career-best ranking.
Rodionova was overlooked in the first round of Australian Open wildcards as Tennis Australia rewarded young trio Kimberly Birrell, Olivia Gadecki and Taylah Preston with berths in the main draw, but will be Australia’s top ranked player if she is able to advance through qualifying at Melbourne Park.
Ajla Tomljanovic is the only other Australian woman in the main draw, with the 30-year-old securing a protected entry after a knee injury derailed most of her 2023 including the previous Australian Open.
Tomljanovic has suffered two straight sets losses playing for Australia in the United Cup in Perth, but said after her 6-7, 3-6 defeat to the USA’s world No. 5 Jessica Pegula on Monday night that she felt closer to her best.
“I’m not going to lie, Friday (a 2-6, 4-6 loss to Katie Boulter) really kind of put me down,” she said.
“But coming out (Monday) and putting up a good fight, and even though I didn’t win, I felt like I had so many chances.”