Rybakina wins her first round in Abu Dhabi despite losing the first set

Elena Rybakina faced Katie Volynets in the first round of the WTA 500 in Abu Dhabi.

Despite losing the first set 6-2, the Kazakh rallied to defeat the qualifier 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Serving for the match in the third set at 5-3, she was debreaked, but managed to take her opponent's serve in the next game.

She declared in a post-match interview: "It was a very tough match. I tried to concentrate on every point.

She was returning a lot of balls, so I had to take a lot of risks, which explains the number of unforced errors I made."

She will face either Ons Jabeur or Wakana Sonobe in the next round.