Rybakina defeats Putintseva in Tokyo to secure Year-End No. 1 Ranking
Elena Rybakina has secured the WTA Year-End No. 1 Ranking for the first time in her career after defeating Kazakhstani compatriot Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3 in the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis second round.
The No. 1 seed did not drop serve through the 70-minute contest, saving the only break point she faced with a hefty backhand in the final game. Rybakina, who ascended to the World No. 1 position for the first time after capturing her third Grand Slam trophy at the US Open in September, closed out victory in appropriate fashion -- with her sixth ace of the day.
"It's always difficult matches against Yulia," Rybakina said in her on-court interview. "I was ready for longer rallies. She plays a lot of drop shots and changing the rhythm, so I was happy I stayed focused, stayed aggressive and a lot of things worked for me today.
"I think the closed roof a little bit also helped me. I like to play in these kind of conditions. The ball is flying a bit faster, generally I think the conditions suit me really well."
Rybakina struggled in her early meetings with Billie Jean King Cup teammate Putintseva, losing their first two encounters (at Rome 2020 and Indian Wells 2021) before having to battle through a 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 marathon in 2 hours and 48 minutes, saving two match points, in the 2024 Madrid quarterfinals to notch her first win in the series. But this year, she has turned the rivalry decisively in her favor. Thursday's win in Tokyo followed a 6-3, 6-3 victory in the Miami second round, and Rybakina now leads the head-to-head 3-2.
Though Putintseva intermittently showed flashes of brilliance -- particularly in the second set, when she came up with several deft passes and drop shots -- Rybakina was able to keep her at bay with reliably strong serving, landing 63% of her first serves and dropping just 10 points behind it.Â
Rybakina extended her winning streak to five matches following her title run last week in Ningbo, her tour-leading fourth title of the season. In the Tokyo quarterfinals, she will face a rematch of the Ningbo final against Leylah Fernandez. The Canadian defeated No. 8 seed Elise Mertens 6-2, 7-6(8), holding off a late charge from the Belgian from 4-1 down in the second set. Fernandez had to save two set points in the tiebreak before reprising her Ningbo first-round win over Mertens.
Rybakina holds a 4-2 head-to-head advantage over Fernandez, including the last three meetings in a row. Her 6-2, 6-2 scoreline in the Ningbo final marked the fewest games she has conceded to Fernandez in any of their matches.
Rybakina has achieved her feat in her 10th year of holding a year-end WTA ranking. At the age of 17 years old, she ended 2016 at No. 606. Three years later, she ended a season inside the Top 100 for the first time after cutting her year-end position from No. 175 in 2018 to No. 36 in 2019. Rybakina finished the next three seasons from 2020 to 2022 inside the Top 20.
This year marks Rybakina's fourth consecutive Top 5 finish: she ended 2023 and 2024 at No. 3, and 2025 at No. 5.
