There’s a giant-killer rising up the ranks on the WTA tour and she just struck again, this time on New Year’s Eve in Brisbane.
Elina Avanesyan pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the week on Tuesday, taking out No. 4-seeded—and No. 12-ranked—Paula Badosa in the second round of the WTA 500 event, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.
And with that, the 22-year-old Armenian is now a perfect 7-0 in her career—yes, 7-0—against players ranked No. 12 or better. That includes three Top 10 wins and four against No. 11s or No. 12s.
ELINA AVANESYAN VS TOP 12 PLAYERS:
d. No. 12 Bencic in ’23 Roland Garros 1st Rd, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
d. No. 11 Kasatkina in ’23 Berlin 1st Rd, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7)
d. No. 8 Sakkari in ’24 Australian Open 2nd Rd, 6-4, 6-4
d. No. 6 Jabeur in ’24 Miami 2nd Rd, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
d. No. 8 Zheng in ’24 Roland Garros 3rd Rd, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6)
d. No. 11 Ostapenko in ’24 Cincinnati 2nd Rd, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
d. No. 12 Badosa in ’25 Brisbane 2nd Rd, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
The highest-ranked players to defeat Avanesyan are a pair of world No. 15s—Jasmine Paolini in the fourth round of Roland Garros earlier this year, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1, and Liudmila Samsonova in the second round of Wimbledon earlier this year, 6-3, 6-3.
