The leader of the Kazakhstani women's team, Elena Rybakina, has reached the semifinals of the Miami Open by defeating her opponent from Greece, 28-year-old Maria Sakkari (WTA 9). Rybakina has faced Sakkari three times in the last three years, with their latest encounter resulting in Rybakina's victory at the WTA year-end tournament in Cancun in November last year. In that match, Elena defeated her opponent in three sets (6:0; 6:7 (4:7); 7:6 (7:2)).
It is worth noting that Azarenka, as reported earlier, also defeated another Kazakhstani tennis player, Yulia Putintseva. Prior to this, Rybakina secured her 20th victory of the season at the WTA level by defeating the 17th-ranked player in the world, American Madison Keys. Rybakina has become the third tennis player to achieve this milestone this year, following the world's number one player Iga Swiatek and the 20th-ranked player in the world, 22-year-old American Emma Navarro.
