Elena Rybakina secured the year-end world No. 1 ranking after defeating fellow Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3 at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. The victory means she cannot be overtaken in the rankings before the end of the season, capping a remarkable year in which she won both the Australian Open and US Open titles.
Rybakina won her fourth title of 2026 at the Ningbo Open last week before securing the year-end world No. 1 ranking with a straight-sets victory over Putintseva in Tokyo.
The 27-year-old served six aces and hit 25 winners in the 6-2, 6-3 win. She will face former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez in the quarter-finals after beating her in the Ningbo Open final.
Rybakina in a interview with BBC said: “It means a lot. This is something we worked for with the team.
“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.”
Rybakina rose to the top of the world rankings in September after beating China’s Zheng Qinwen in the US Open quarter-finals, ending Aryna Sabalenka’s long spell at No. 1.
She also defeated Sabalenka in the finals of the Australian Open and US Open this year, adding two Grand Slam titles to her growing list of achievements.
Rybakina will next defend her singles title at the season-ending WTA Finals, scheduled for November 8-15 in Indian Wells.
