ROME - Chinese tennis player Wang Xinyu suffered a straight-set loss to Russia's Kamilla Rakhimova in the first round of the WTA Italian Open on Wednesday.

According to the original draw, Wang was scheduled to face former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the opening round. However, Vondrousova withdrew ahead of the match due to a shoulder injury, and her spot was taken by Rakhimova.

Wang and Rakhimova had previously met in January during the final round of qualifying at the WTA 500 Adelaide, where Wang claimed victory. This time around, it was Rakhimova who came out on top, winning 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 32 minutes.

In the first set, the two players exchanged breaks in the opening stage, leveling the score at 2-2. However, Wang then lost rhythm and ultimately dropped the set 6-3.

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In the second set, the players traded breaks early to reach 1-1 before Rakhimova took command, winning four consecutive games. Wang briefly halted her opponent's momentum by holding serve in the seventh game to make it 5-2, but Rakhimova served out the match comfortably at 6-2.