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Tennis
Elena Rybakina could seal the year-end world number one ranking this week in Tokyo, with Aryna Sabalenka facing near-impossible odds to overtake her.
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Elena Rybakina stands on the brink of confirming her year-end world number one status, with the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo offering her the chance to wrap things up before the season's final showpiece event.
The Kazakh sits atop the WTA rankings with 9,501 points - a hefty 1,951-point cushion over nearest rival Aryna Sabalenka, who trails on 7,550.
The maths is brutally simple - and brutally difficult for Sabalenka. To have any hope of overtaking Rybakina, the Belarusian would need her rival to fall at the first hurdle in Tokyo while she herself wins all five matches at the WTA Finals. Anything short of that scenario, and the title race is over.
Rybakina has been handed a bye into the second round at the Pan Pacific Open, where she will meet the winner of the first-round clash between Yulia Putintseva and Maria Sakkari. Even a single victory would almost certainly seal the deal.
It has been a remarkable 2026 campaign for Rybakina. Two Grand Slam titles headline a year that also includes WTA tournament victories in Ningbo and Stuttgart, plus runner-up finishes at Indian Wells and the Canadian Open. Clinching the year-end number one ranking in Japan would add yet another line to an already glittering CV.
Beyond Tokyo, Rybakina's attention will turn to defending her WTA Finals crown at Indian Wells next month, having already booked her place at the season-ending event.
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Copyright 2026 VIASPORT
Eva Hernández, Editor-in-Chief
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