Top seed Kristina Mladenovic unsuccessfully launched her Hengqin Life WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai campaign on the tournament’s second day, extending her two-digit losing streak, while US Open champion Sloane Stephens also continued to pile up defeats after her surprising Grand Slam triumph.
Owing to her impressive form in the first half of the season, Kristina Mladenovic cracked the Top 10 last month, but the Frenchwoman simply can’t win a match any more and today she suffered her 11th consecutive loss, falling to tenth seed Magdalena Rybarikova on the seventh match point in a third-set tiebreak in the Azalea Group, 7-5 1-6 7-6(5).