Cincinnati Open: Armenia’s Elina Avanesyan Advances to Round of 16 Armenia

CINCINNATI — Elina Avanesyan’s 6-4, 7-5 victory over Bianca Andreescu in the first round of the Cincinnati Open wasn’t just a continuation of the 21-year-old’s stellar season; it was a history-making moment for Armenia. Avanesyan became the first player representing the country to compete in a Hologic WTA Tour main draw.

Avanesyan continued her success in Cincinnati on Thursday by defeating No. 8 seed Jelena Ostapenko 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the second round. This win marks her fourth Top 20 victory of the season and her first since knocking out Zheng Qinwen at Roland Garros.

Last week, the World No. 60 began competing under the Armenian flag, announcing on social media: “I am proud to share that I am officially a citizen of Armenia, and I am honored to be competing under my Armenian flag starting at the Cincinnati Open on Monday! Excited for this new chapter and to bring success to my ancestral homeland.”

Avanesyan was born in Pyatigorsk, Russia, to Armenian parents from Nagorno-Karabakh, who moved from the disputed region in 1992 during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Avanesyan’s switch made her the first player representing Armenia to be ranked inside the Top 100. The last Armenian to be ranked in the Top 500 was Ani Amiraghyan, who peaked at No. 422 in August 2013. The only other Armenian player to reach the Top 100 on either tour was former ATP No. 38 Sargis Sargsian, who reached his career high in January 2004.

On Sunday, Avanesyan’s victory over Lauren Davis in the first round of Cincinnati qualifying made her the first Armenian player to compete in a WTA qualifying draw since Liudmila Nikoyan at Pattaya City in 2002, and the first to win a qualifying match since Nikoyan at Tashkent in 2000. Nikoyan’s highest ranking was No. 500 in October 2000.