Ashlyn Krueger pulled off the biggest upset so far at the Miami Open by securing her first career victory over a Top 10 player. She defeated the tournament’s No. 7 seed, Elena Rybakina, in a tightly contested three-set match, winning 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Ranked World No. 40, Krueger had previously struggled against Top 10 opponents, failing to win a set in six previous encounters. However, she managed to overcome a dominant serving performance by Rybakina, who went on a remarkable 22-point winning streak on serve. This stretch lasted from 5-3, 30-15 in the opening set through the first game of the deciding set. During the second set, Rybakina was particularly untouchable, winning all 16 of her service points.
Despite Rybakina’s impressive serving run, Krueger demonstrated her own powerful delivery. The similarities between the two players have been frequently noted by fans, who have nicknamed Krueger “Baby Rybakina.” Both are tall—Krueger standing at 6’1″ and Rybakina at 6’0″—and both rely on strong, clean power-hitting as the foundation of their games, particularly their serves.
Ultimately, the match was decided by that very weapon. Krueger proved more efficient on her first serve, winning 81% of those points compared to Rybakina’s 67%. This superior performance on serve helped Krueger secure the victory in their first-ever meeting on the court.