Elena Rybakina secured the year-end women’s singles number one ranking by defeating Yulia Putintseva in the last 16 of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
Pan Pacific Open Victory
The 6-2 6-3 victory means Rybakina cannot be overtaken in the closing weeks of a stellar year in which she has won both the Australian Open and US Open titles. Rybakina triumphed at the Ningbo Open to claim her fourth title of 2026 and, after a first-round bye in Tokyo, served six aces and produced 25 winners against Putintseva. She will face former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez in the Tokyo quarter-finals, whom she previously defeated in the Ningbo Open final.
Reflecting on the achievement, Rybakina stated that it means a great deal and is the result of hard work with her team. She noted that many great players are close to each other in the standings and expressed happiness that her recent wins made securing the top spot possible. The 27-year-old, who represents Kazakhstan alongside Putintseva, defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the Grand Slam finals in Melbourne and New York this year, subsequently replacing the Belarusian as world number one in September. Her ascent to the top of the singles rankings for the first time was assured following a quarter-final victory over China’s Zheng Qinwen at the US Open. Rybakina’s next tournament will be the defense of her singles title at the season-ending WTA Finals, scheduled for 8-15 November in Indian Wells.
Journey to the Top
Rybakina’s push for the top ranking began at the end of 2025. Following a quarter-final defeat to Sabalenka at the Wuhan Open last October, Rybakina won the Ningbo Open title a week later and subsequently defeated Sabalenka to claim the season-ending WTA Finals. She maintained that momentum into 2026 by overcoming Sabalenka in a three-set Australian Open final for her second Grand Slam title. Sabalenka later won their Indian Wells final and Miami Open semi-final meetings, while Rybakina captured the Stuttgart title on clay.
After early exits at the French Open and Wimbledon, Rybakina reached the Toronto final before losing in straight sets to Iga Swiatek. Her chase of long-time rankings leader Sabalenka faced another obstacle when she had to retire injured from her Cincinnati Open quarter-final against Swiatek. Rybakina later explained that a left ankle issue had bothered her for a long time, and she admitted her preparation before the US Open was subpar due to a lack of training.
