Daniil Medvedev and Elena Rybakina both added to their career title tallies on Sunday.

Medvedev emerged victorious in the Almaty Open final by coming back from a set down to defeat Nikoloz Basilashvili and secure his fourth title of the season, following triumphs in Brisbane, Dubai and Hangzhou. Rybakina, meanwhile, came out on top in the Ningbo Open final against Leylah Fernandez, beating the Canadian in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.

Elena Rybakina and Daniil Medvedev defend their titles

Medvedev and Rybakina were the reigning champions at their respective tournaments, and both players have now completed a successful title defence for the first time in their careers. Before Sunday, the Russian had won 24 titles, and the Kazakh star had captured 15, but neither of them had managed to go back-to-back after any of those victories.

Medvedev has won 25 titles in 23 different cities, including the 2021 US Open and six ATP Masters 1000 titles. Rybakina’s 16 crowns include three Grand Slam titles, two of which she has won this season at the Australian Open and the US Open.

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Medvedev’s Almaty title has given him a huge boost in his pursuit of qualifying for the ATP Finals, with the 30-year-old now fourth in the race to Turin. Medvedev has a total of 3,660 live points in the race heading into the final stretch of the European indoor hard-court swing.

He is competing with Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils, Frances Tiafoe, Rafael Jodar, Alex de Minaur, Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Jakub Mensik, all of whom have a chance of clinching one of the eight spots at the year-end competition.

Rybakina, on the other hand, has already qualified for the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, where she will be bidding to become the first woman to win the tournament in consecutive years since Serena Williams in 2014.