Australian Open champion crashes out in Dubai

KARIM SAHIB / AFP

Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin has been knocked out in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The fifth-seeded American lost 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 to Elena Rybakina of Kazakhastan. 

It's Kenin's first defeat in a WTA Tour match since winning the title in Melbourne last month.

Rybakina will now face Katerina Siniakova in the next round.

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