NEW YORK — Elena Rybakina will be ranked No. 1 in the world when the WTA rankings are published Monday. She is the first man or woman from Kazakhstan to reach the top of the rankings, and the 30th woman in WTA history to hold the position.
Rybakina clinched the ranking on Wednesday with a quarterfinal win over Zheng Qinwen, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. On Saturday she won the tournament as well, beating Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the final at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The match ran 2 hours, 21 minutes.
Rybakina hit 12 aces. Sabalenka hit 6. Rybakina finished with 36 winners and 24 unforced errors, and Sabalenka finished with 32 winners and 35 unforced errors. Rybakina closed the match with her 12th ace, a 110-mph serve.
Rybakina met reporters at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center afterward. The moderator opened the availability by handing the first question to Emery, a child seated in the front row who works the US Open Lemonade Stand.
“It feels amazing. It’s still so difficult to process what happened,” Rybakina said. “Too many achievements these few weeks. I’m super happy, very proud of all the work. Yeah, it’s just amazing. Difficult to find words, but super happy.”
Rybakina broke early in the first set. Sabalenka broke late in the second to force a decider. Rybakina broke back at 2-1 in the third and again at 5-2.
“In the third set I told myself that I can still do it,” Rybakina said. “I need to focus on my serve and just risk a little bit more when I have the chance.”
Elena Rybakina On Reaching No. 1
Rybakina’s previous run at the ranking ended on Aug. 20, when she retired from her Cincinnati Open quarterfinal against Iga Świątek with a left ankle injury. She had needed to reach the Cincinnati final to pass Sabalenka.
A reporter asked what it would have felt like to wake up at No. 1 on Monday without the title.
“It’s gonna be very different to wake up next morning knowing that you won the US Open, achieved number one ranking, and it’s kind of relief, you know, because you do all the routines for the past two, three weeks,” Rybakina said. “It’s a lot of work, a lot of nerves also. So, yeah, I feel that is going to be amazing to wake up knowing that you achieved such a big thing.”
Rybakina won Wimbledon in 2022 and lost the 2023 Australian Open final to Sabalenka. In November 2025 she went undefeated to win the WTA Finals, beating Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6(0) in the championship match, a run that paid a record $5.235 million. She then beat Sabalenka again in January at the Australian Open, coming back from 3-0 down in the deciding set. She is the first player in eight years to win the WTA Finals and the Australian Open back to back.
She added Stuttgart in April. She finished runner-up at Indian Wells and in Toronto, and reached the Miami semifinals. She leads the Tour with more than 350 aces this season.
One question asked whether something specific a year ago changed her trajectory.
“I always believe that it’s possible. We’ve been having great results,” Rybakina said. “And of course, not every year is the same. I won Wimbledon in 2022. Then I wasn’t winning the slams, but I played final of Australian Open the next year. And I think we were always there.”
Rybakina continued that the shift was not a single moment.
“I feel like now I have a great team, great people around me, and we just continue the work and it finally paid off, and I’m super happy, very proud,” Rybakina said. “And it’s never easy. Even now, I finish here, I rest, I celebrate, and then still the tournaments are coming up. You still need to play, you still need to compete with the same players and you still need to do your best.”
Rybakina On New York And Kazakhstan
A reporter noted that Rybakina lost in the first round on Court 12 at the 2022 US Open, weeks after winning Wimbledon, and characterized her as displeased with the court assignment at the time. Rybakina corrected the premise before answering.
“Actually, I was not saying anything. I was okay,” Rybakina said.
“I came here some 10 years ago as a junior, and for me it was already such an amazing place,” Rybakina added. “It was so loud, so different from other places. And especially here, no matter which court you play, it’s always full. It’s always amazing atmosphere. And for some reason, New York wasn’t my best place for tennis for the past years, but definitely now it changed, and I hope that next time when I come, it’s going to be again until the very end.”
A reporter from Kazakhstan asked for a message to people at home.
“My message is I would say just a big thank you for all the support, for belief,” Rybakina said. “And I’m not there yet. I’m planning to come and I want to share this moment with all the people in Kazakhstan who supported, who watched, and especially kids.”
Rybakina said the response there is visible at the courts.
“There’s so many kids are coming and just, yeah, coming to the tennis facilities. They all want to play tennis, which is, I think, a great thing,” Rybakina said. “And yeah, just celebrate such an achievement for the country all together.”
Rybakina is 8-10 against Sabalenka in her career and 5-2 against her in tournament finals. She has won 14 consecutive matches at hard-court majors.
