Rybakina grinds past Zheng despite electronic line-calling row to reach Madrid last 16
Rybakina (No 2) came from a set down to beat Zheng (No 32) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, paused midway through to tell the umpire the line-calling system was wrong — and then went back to winning. Not her best tennis. Still through.
Elena Rybakina, Madrid 2026 | © Altersports / PsNewz
Elena Rybakina, the second seed, fought back from a set down to beat Chinese Qinwen Zheng, the No 32 seed, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday evening, reaching the last 16 of the Mutua Madrid Open in a match that was briefly hijacked by a row over electronic line-calling.
Leading 4-1 in the second set, Rybakina disputed a serve from Zheng that the system had called in. She walked to the net and showed the umpire the mark – visibly out. “Are you kidding me? This is not a joke. The system is wrong. It is not touching. It is absolutely wrong,” she said.
The umpire could not override the call. Rybakina won the argument on points – and eventually the set, holding her composure through the disruption.
The win was built on persistence rather than brilliance. Rybakina had herself warned before the tournament that she was not yet at her best, and the evidence across her opening two matches in Madrid has supported that. She dropped the first set to Zheng, a player she had beaten in four of their five previous meetings including a three-set battle in Doha in February. Once she adjusted, the quality came, and it came at the moments she needed it most.
She faces the winner of the match between Anastasia Potapova and Jelena Ostapenko, the No 21 seed, in the next round, the last match of the day in Madrid.
