Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina clinches first year-end WTA No. 1 ranking
The gist
Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina beat Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3 in Tokyo to secure the year-end WTA No.
She is the first player representing Kazakhstan to finish a season atop the rankings.
How it unfolded
- 2025Rybakina lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the Wuhan Open quarter-finals, which the BBC said began her push for the world number one ranking.
- 2025A week after Wuhan she won the Ningbo Open, then beat Sabalenka to take the season-ending WTA Finals.
- 2026Rybakina beat Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the Australian Open final, her second Slam title almost four years after her first at Wimbledon.