China's Qinwen Zheng returns the ball to Russia's Veronika Kudermetova (not in photograph) during their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament, in Rome, on May 16, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

BERLIN - Rising Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen suffered a 2-0 defeat against Russia's Veronika Kudermetova in the first round of the WTA500 Berlin Open at the Steffi Graf Stadium on Wednesday.

In an outdoor clay match in Rome last month, Zheng narrowly lost 2-1. In the rematch on Berlin's grass court, the 20-year-old couldn't secure a victory and was defeated by straight sets at 6-4, 6-2.

With a current world ranking of 25, Zheng held steady in the first set at 4-4 until Kudermetova broke to win the ninth game and clinched the first set. In the second set, Zheng was broken twice, leading to her eventual match loss.

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Zheng committed three double faults, while world No. 13 Kudermetova demonstrated superior first-serve efficiency. The Russian player will face world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the round of 16.

French Open women's doubles champion Wang Xinyu played singles matches in the Berlin tournament, beginning from the qualifying rounds.

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The 21-year-old Wang defeated Taylah Preston of Australia in the first round and Coco Vandeweghe of the United States in the second. However, she had to retire due to injuries to her right elbow during the first main draw match against Jaimee Fourlis of Australia on Tuesday.