Elena Rybakina secures year-end world No. 1 with Tokyo win
Rybakina defeated Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3 in the Pan Pacific Open second round.
Elena Rybakina clinched the year-end world No. 1 ranking for the first time after beating Yulia Putintseva in Tokyo. She will next face Leylah Fernandez in a Ningbo final rematch.
Key takeaways
- Elena Rybakina beat Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3 in Tokyo
- She secured the year-end world No. 1 ranking for the first time
- The match was the second round of the Pan Pacific Open
- She next plays Leylah Fernandez in a Ningbo final rematch
Elena Rybakina beat fellow Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Oct 29 to secure the year-end world No. 1 ranking for the first time, more than a week before the season-ending WTA Finals.
The victory at the WTA 500 event at the Ariake Coliseum confirmed Rybakina as the year-end world No. 1, ensuring Aryna Sabalenka could not overtake her. Rybakina leads the WTA rankings with 9,501 points, while Sabalenka sits second with 7,550, a 1,951-point gap.
Ningbo title and season form
Rybakina arrived in Tokyo after capturing her fourth title of the season at last week’s Ningbo Open in China, where she defeated Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 6-2 in the final.
The triumph marked her fourth title of the 2026 season, the most of any player on the WTA Tour, and pushed her career singles tally to 15 trophies. It was also her first title since becoming world No.
1 and the first successful title defence of her career. She had taken over the top ranking following her triumph at the US Open in September, her third Grand Slam crown after Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
Setbacks and recovery
Rybakina endured a brief dip after her US Open triumph, losing her opening match in Beijing and missing the Wuhan Open due to a leg injury, before retaining her title in Ningbo. Having now spent seven weeks as world No.
1, she has already moved past former top-ranked players Evonne Goolagong and Garbiñe Muguruza, who spent two and four weeks at the pinnacle respectively, and is chasing Karolina Pliskova’s eight weeks.
What happens next
Rybakina next faces Leylah Fernandez in a rematch of their Ningbo final, after the Canadian beat Elise Mertens 6-2, 7-6 (10-8). She then heads to Indian Wells, California, for the WTA Finals, where the season’s top eight players will compete from Nov 8-15. Rybakina is targeting a 16th career title before the season-ending event.
WTA ranking points
Player | Points |
|---|---|
Elena Rybakina | 9,501 |
Aryna Sabalenka | 7,550 |
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