TOKYO : Elena Rybakina secured the year-end world number one ranking for the first time on Thursday after beating fellow Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 6-2 6-3 in the second round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
The 27-year-old needed just one more victory this season to ensure that world number two Aryna Sabalenka could not overtake her in the rankings, with the result confirming her position more than a week before the season-ending WTA Finals.
Rybakina received a bye into the last 16 of the WTA 500 tournament and arrived in Tokyo after winning her fourth title of the season at last week’s Ningbo Open in China. It was her first title since rising to the top of the rankings.
She first reached the world number one position en route to winning the U.S. Open last month, capping a standout season in which she also captured the Australian Open title. The victories took her Grand Slam tally to three, following her Wimbledon triumph in 2022.
Rybakina will next face Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in a rematch of the Ningbo final after Fernandez defeated Elise Mertens 6-2 7-6(8).
The Kazakh briefly lost momentum after her U.S. Open triumph, suffering an opening-round defeat in Beijing before withdrawing from the Wuhan Open because of a leg injury. She returned to form by successfully defending her title in Ningbo.
Rybakina is now targeting a 16th career title before heading to the WTA Finals, which will feature the season’s top eight players in Indian Wells, California, from November 8-15.
