Elena Rybakina secured the year-end women’s singles world number one ranking by beating Yulia Putintseva 6-2 6-3 in the last 16 of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. She cannot be overtaken in the closing weeks of the season.
Rybakina, who has won three Grand Slam titles in her career, has enjoyed a stellar year that included the Australian Open and US Open titles. After a first-round bye in Tokyo, she served six aces and hit 25 winners against Putintseva. Last week she triumphed at the Ningbo Open to win her fourth title of 2026.
She will face former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez in the Tokyo quarter-finals. Rybakina beat Fernandez 6-2 6-2 in the Ningbo Open final.
Reflecting on the ranking, Rybakina said: “It means a lot. This is something we worked for with the team.”
She added: “So many great players and we are all really close to each other, and I’m happy that now with last week and with today’s win I made it possible to secure number one at the end of the year. It’s an amazing achievement and hopefully we can continue this way next year.”
The 27-year-old, who like Putintseva represents Kazakhstan, beat Aryna Sabalenka in the finals of the Australian Open and US Open this year. She had already overtaken the Belarusian to become world number one in September. A quarter-final victory over China’s Zheng Qinwen at the US Open ensured she would reach the top of the singles rankings for the first time.
Rybakina’s journey to world number one
Rybakina’s push for the top ranking began at the end of 2025. After losing to Sabalenka in the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open last October, she won the Ningbo Open one week later. She then beat Sabalenka to win the season-ending WTA Finals.
She carried that momentum into 2026 by defeating Sabalenka again, this time in a major final. She beat her fellow big server in three competitive sets to win the Australian Open, her second Grand Slam title, almost four years after her first at Wimbledon.
Since then, Sabalenka has come out on top in their Indian Wells final and Miami Open semi-final. Rybakina, however, won the Stuttgart title on clay as Sabalenka’s form fluctuated. After disappointing early exits at the French Open and Wimbledon, she reached the Toronto final but lost in straight sets to Iga Swiatek.
Her pursuit of Sabalenka suffered another setback when she retired injured from her Cincinnati Open quarter-final against Swiatek. Rybakina later revealed that a left ankle problem, which hindered her movement and prevented her from pushing off properly when serving, had been “bothering me for a long period of time.” She said she felt it was “under control.”
Before the US Open, Rybakina admitted her preparation “wasn’t great,” as she could not train for much of the week leading into the tournament. That did not stop her from becoming world number one and winning the event.
Rybakina’s next tournament will be the defense of her singles title at the season-ending WTA Finals, which take place from 8 to 15 November in Indian Wells.