Sabalenka pulls off 'crazy comeback' to defeat Rybakina at Berlin Open

BERLIN (AP) — Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback," saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarterfinals of the Berlin Open on Friday.

Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker but won six straight points to reach her eighth semifinal of the season.

“Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles," Sabalenka said. "I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.

“I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down match points, and not so long ago I was thinking that it’s been a while since I’ve made a crazy comeback, and here I am."

Sabalenka next faces Marketa Vondrousova, who defeated Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-1. Liudmila Samsonova also went through with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Amanda Anisimova.

Samsonova will next meet Wang Xinyu after her opponent, Paula Badosa, was forced to withdraw due to a right hip injury after losing the first set 6-1.

Spain's Paula Badosa celebrates defeating Germany's Eva Lys during the Berlin WTA tennis tournament in Berlin, Germany, Monday, June 16, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)

China's Xinyu Wang and Spain's Paula Badosa talk to the umpire as their women's singles quarter final tennis match was postponed due to injury, during the WTA Tour in Berlin, Friday, June 20, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka celebrates winning against Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in their women's singles quarterfinal match of the Berlin WTA tennis tournament, in Berlin, Friday, June 20, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka returns a shot to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, during their women's singles quarterfinal match of the Berlin WTA tennis tournament, in Berlin, Friday, June 20, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka celebrates winning against Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, during their women's singles quarterfinal match of the Berlin WTA tennis tournament, in Berlin, Friday, June 20, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)