Arina Rodionova poised to become oldest woman to make Top 100 debut after Hua Hin victory

At 34 years old, Arina Rodionova will become the oldest woman to make a Top 100 debut on the Hologic WTA tour rankings next week after reaching the Thailand Open quarterfinals in Hua Hin.

Rodionova is currently ranked No. 101, and is unofficially projected to reach a new career-high of No. 96 on Monday after rallying from a set down to defeat Bai Zhouxuan, 3-6, 6-1, 6-0. She breaks the record hitherto held by Tzipora Obziler, who made her Top 100 debut just shy of her 34th birthday in 2007.

The Aussie began 2024 in pole position to achieve this long-awaited milestone after reaching 10 ITF Pro Circuit finals in 2023, winning seven titles. Her season debut began at the Brisbane International, where she reached the third round with a win over 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

Despite her impressive surge, Rodionova narrowly missed the main-draw cut-off for the first major tournament of the year. Without a wild card, she played qualifying instead and endured a first-round loss to Leolia Jeanjean.

“Pick yourself up and get back to work cause last time I checked.. no one is gonna do that for me,” the fan favorite wrote on social media after the defeat. “The year is just getting started!”

Younger sister to former Top 15 doubles player and fellow Olympian Anastasia Rodionova, Arina returned to action in Hua Hin, where she upset No. 6 seed Yuan Yue in three sets before outlasting Bai to book a quarterfinal clash, the second of her career on the WTA tour, with No. 2 seed Zhu Lin.