TOKYO – Elena Rybakina beat fellow Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Oct 29 to secure the year-end world No. 1 ranking for the first time, more than a week before the season-ending WTA Finals.

Rybakina received a bye into the last 16 of the WTA 500 event in Tokyo and arrived at the Ariake Coliseum after capturing her fourth title of the season and first as the top-ranked player at last week’s Ningbo Open in China.

The 27-year-old, who rose to world No. 1 for the first time en route to winning the US Open in September, needed only one more victory in 2026 to ensure that world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka could not overtake her.

Rybakina is enjoying a marquee year with wins at the Australian Open and US Open to take her Grand Slam tally to three, after winning Wimbledon four years ago.

She next faces Leylah Fernandez in a rematch of their Ningbo final, after the Canadian beat Elise Mertens 6-2, 7-6 (10-8).

Rybakina endured a brief dip after her US Open triumph, losing her opening match in Beijing and missing the Wuhan Open due to a leg injury, before retaining her title in Ningbo.

She is targeting a 16th career title before heading to Indian Wells, California, for the WTA Finals, where the season’s top eight players will compete from Nov 8-15 REUTERS