Elena Rybakina will once again have an opportunity to topple Aryna Sabalenka at No 1 in the WTA Rankings, but it won’t be an easy feat at the Canadian Open.
Sabalenka started her 94th consecutive week at the top of the rankings on Monday as she replaced Iga Swiatek at No 1 in October 2024, and there is no doubt she has been the dominant player on the WTA Tour over the past two years.
But her lead has been precarious in recent months as Rybakina had a chance to overtake her at the French Open and Wimbledon, but she lost in the second round at Roland Garros and followed it up with a third-round exit at the All England Club.
All is not lost for the two-time Grand Slam winner as the lead dropped to 494 points ahead of this week’s WTA 1000 event in Toronto, but there is good news for reigning US Open champion Sabalenka as she doesn’t have any points to defend in Canada after missing last year’s tournament.
Rybakina, meanwhile, reached the semi-final in 2025 so dropped 390 points at the start of the current edition, resulting in Sabalenka’s lead increasing to 886 points.
The Canadian Open is the first tournament for both players following their Wimbledon disappointments.
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After losing in the fourth round against Naomi Osaka, Sabalenka was asked about the No 1 spot and frustratingly replied: “Oh, this question, guys. I mean, let’s just look at the ranking. Right now I’m world No 1. Level-wise, today I wasn’t world No 1. Yesterday I was world No 1.
“I feel like I just, you know, I don’t even want to think about ranking at this point. I just want to go, get completely drunk, forget about tennis, and try to get in better shape (smiling).”
And Sabalenka has already won her second-round match against Moyuko Uchijima to add another 65 points to her total with the advantage over her rival sitting at 951 points in the Live WTA Rankings while Rybakina still has to play her opener.
The permutations will stay the same for Rybakina in Canada as she can only become world No 1 for the first time in her career if she wins the 2026 Canadian Open and Sabalenka loses before the quarter-final.
A title run is worth 1,000 points and, should Sabalenka lose in the next two rounds, that would be good enough to wipe out the lead and become the first-ever player from Kazakhstan to be the No 1 in the world.
Rybakina reached a career-high No 2 in the WTA Rankngs for the first time in March this year with that breakthrough coming on the back of winning the Australian Open and finishing runner-up at the Indian Wells Open.
