Elena Rybakina has reacted after she clinched the year-end No 1 ranking by winning her opening match at the 2026 Pan Pacific Open.
The three-time Grand Slam champion earned a decisive 6-2, 6-3 victory over her fellow Kazakh Yulia Putintseva in the second round at the WTA 500 event in Tokyo on Thursday.
Rybakina has extended her winning streak to five matches after claiming four victories en route to capturing the Ningbo Open title last week.
The 27-year-old became the world No 1 for the first time on 14 September as she replaced Aryna Sabalenka — who she overcame in the US Open final the previous week.
After beating Putintseva in Tokyo, Rybakina spoke about her year-end No 1 achievement.
“It means a lot, this is something we worked for with the team,” said the reigning US Open and Australian Open champion.
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“So many great players and we are all really close to each other, and I’m happy that now with last week and with today’s win I made it possible to secure number one at the end of the year.
“It’s an amazing achievement and hopefully we can continue this way next year.”
Rybakina faced just a single break point against Putintseva, which she saved when serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set.
The Kazakh highlighted the importance of her serve.
“Today the serve definitely helped me in the important moments,” Rybakina said.
“I was just trying to pick my spot and I think today with a closed roof and a combination of the balls and the court made me feel better serving. I’m glad today it worked.”
More to follow…
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