Rybakina clinches year-end world number one spot with Tokyo win
After beating Putintseva in Tokyo, Elena Rybakina will end 2026 as world number one. Four titles this season, before she defends her crown at the WTA Finals.
Rieltony LOUBOKO · Author profile ·
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Elena Rybakina will finish 2026 at the top of the WTA rankings. The Kazakh secured the year-end number one spot by beating Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday 29 October in the second round of the Tokyo tournament. At 27, she earns the distinction for the first time, ahead of the WTA Finals in Indian Wells.
One win was enough, and Rybakina got it in her opening match, against her compatriot. She had taken over at the top of the rankings on 14 September; she now knows that Aryna Sabalenka can no longer take top spot back before the end of the season.
The scoreline tells the story of a controlled match. In 1 hr 10 min of play, the top seed did not drop her serve and finished with six aces. Putintseva earned only one break point, which was saved in the final game. That ensured Rybakina never gave an opponent capable of stretching rallies and varying the pace a way back into the match.
Four titles, two of them Grand Slams
The ranking rewards a season built across several surfaces and at the major events. Rybakina won the Australian Open and the US Open, adding two trophies to her Wimbledon title from 2022. She now has three Grand Slam titles.
Stuttgart, on clay, and then Ningbo, on hard courts, followed the wins in Melbourne and New York. Four titles in 2026, fifteen in her career: the Kazakh has given real substance to her rise to world number one.
She returned to winning ways on Sunday 25 October in Ningbo. In the final she beat Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 6-2 without dropping serve. That win had put the year-end number one spot within reach of a single further victory.
Withdrawal after securing top spot
Rybakina, however, did not play her quarter-final against Leylah Fernandez. She withdrew on Friday 30 October, allowing the Canadian to continue in the Tokyo tournament. The withdrawal does not affect her year-end world number one ranking, already secured by her win over Putintseva.
Finals up next, with a title to defend
The WTA Finals in Indian Wells are the next major event of the end of the season. Rybakina will defend the title she won in Riyadh in 2025.
Rieltony LOUBOKO