Kazakhstan's Kulambayeva earns career-high doubles ranking
Kazakh tennis player Zhibek Kulambayeva has reached the doubles semifinals at Guangzhou Open (WTA 250), Qazinform News Agency learned from the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation.
In the quarterfinals, Zhibek Kulambayeva and her partner Isabelle Haverlag of the Netherlands faced top seeds Maria Kozyreva and Britain’s Maia Lumsden.
The Kazakh-Dutch duo staged a comeback win, closing out the match 3–6, 6–3, 10–8 in one hour and 23 minutes.
During the match, Kulambayeva and Haverlag served two aces, converted three of nine break points, and won 50% of the total points. The pair clinched their spot in the semifinals by taking the deciding match tiebreak.
The semifinal run marks a major career milestone for Zhibek Kulambayeva. In the updated WTA live rankings, the Kazakh player climbed to 95th in doubles, entering the top 100 world rankings. The milestone marks a new personal record for her.
Kulambayeva and Haverlag will now compete for a spot in the Guangzhou tournament final.
Earlier, Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva advanced to the 2nd round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
