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Kazakhstani tennis player became the leader in the world rankings

Kazakhstani tennis player becomes world number one

Kazakhstani tennis player Elena Rybakina will rise to the top spot of the WTA rankings for the first time in her career after reaching the semifinals of the US Open. This was announced by the press service of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

According to the source, Rybakina will replace Aryna Sabalenka, who led the rankings for 99 weeks. During this period, Sabalenka won the 2025 Australian Open and the US Open, finishing the season as the ranking leader for two consecutive years.

Elena's participation in the New York tournament was also in question. She suffered a left ankle injury before the competition. Despite this, the Kazakhstani tennis player reached the quarterfinals without losing a single set in her first four matches. She then defeated China's Zheng Qinwen 3:6, 6:1, 6:4 to reach the US Open semifinals for the first time in her career.

Thus, Rybakina will become the 30th woman in WTA history to rise to the number one spot in the rankings. She will also become the first tennis player in the history of Kazakhstan to hold the world number one ranking in women's singles.

The 27-year-old Rybakina will be the second oldest tennis player in WTA ranking history to reach the top spot. In 2016, 28-year-old German tennis player Angelique Kerber became the ranking leader for the first time in her career.

For now, Rybakina continues her participation in the US Open. After the tournament concludes, she will officially rise to the number one spot in the WTA rankings.

For reference, Elena Rybakina is 27 years old. The Kazakhstani tennis player has won a total of 8 singles titles in Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tournaments. Rybakina has won Grand Slam tournaments twice — Wimbledon (2022) and the Australian Open (2026). She finished 4th in singles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In addition, Rybakina has defeated top-10 players 16 times over the last 52 weeks. During this period, she recorded 1,569 winners and 394 aces, leading the WTA tour in both categories.

The US Open is the fourth Grand Slam tournament of the season. The competition is being held on hard courts and will conclude on September 13. The total prize fund of the tournament is 108 million dollars.

The reigning champion of the women's singles is Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

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