Is the World No. 1 ranking beckoning for Elena Rybakina?

Elena Rybakina is currently on a dream run. Fresh from winning her second major at the 2026 Australian Open, the Kazakhstani player has hit a purple patch.  She reclaimed her career-best World No. 3 ranking after winning the Australian Open, having comprehensively beaten several Top 10 players on her way to the title. The massive upsurge in her form since the WTA Finals has led to speculations and debate in the tennis world on whether she is ready to scale the absolute summit – the World No. 1 on the WTA rankings. 

To answer this question, we will need to look at her sudden rise to fame, achievements, off-court distractions and the comeback made during last year. 

Sudden rise to fame and achievements 

Rybakina rose to instant fame after she won the 2022 Wimbledon in unexpected fashion. She was regarded as a promising player on the WTA tour at the time and was ranked outside the Top 10 but she wasn’t viewed as a prospective Grand Slam winner as yet. On her way to the Wimbledon title, she defeated a former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep in the semi-final followed by defeating former World No. 3 Ons Jabeur in the final to write her name in Wimbledon folklore. 

Rybakina further demonstrated that the Wimbledon win wasn’t a fluke by reaching the 2023 Australian Open final. Although she ended up losing in the final, Rybakina again defeated several top players enroute to the final, especially the then World No.1 Iga Swiatek. She made back-to-back finals at Indian Wells and Miami Open in 2023 winning her first WTA 1000 title at Indian Wells. She ended the 2023 season in impressive fashion, breaking into the Top 8 rankings and securing qualification for her first WTA Finals. 

The 2024 season also started well as Rybakina won the Brisbane International and the Abu Dhabi Open. She reached finals at two WTA 1000 events – the Qatar Open and the Miami Open. She also made the quarter-final at the French Open and the semi-final at Wimbledon. Rybakina again ended the year in Top 8 and secured her second consecutive WTA finals qualification.  

However, the season didn’t end on a positive note for the Kazakh as she lost every game of her WTA Finals campaign amidst off-court chatter surrounding her long-time coach Stefano Vukov. 

Off-Court Distractions and the Comeback in 2025 

Rybakina had parted ways with her long-time coach Stephano Vukov prior to the 2024 US Open after he had been banned by the WTA for breach of  code of conduct.  Rybakina then secured the services of former legend Goran Ivanisevic in November 2024 but two months into the partnership, Ivanisevic decided to leave the job due to concerns regarding his position in the coaching staff with her former coach Vukov returning to the fold. 

The Kazakh suffered due to sickness and injury issues during the first half of the season, often withdrawing from tournaments and had disastrous performances at the majors as she didn’t qualify for the quarter-finals at any of the grand slams. She also slipped down the rankings outside the Top 8 and there was genuine concern that she may not qualify for the WTA Finals. Then came the turnaround that shocked everyone. 

Rybakina proved the age-old cliché that the comeback is always greater than the setback. She won WTA 500 Ningbo Open, reached the semi-final at the Canada Open (WTA 1000) and reached the semis of the Japan Open (WTA 250) to move up the rankings and qualify for the year-ending WTA finals by moving into the Top 8 rankings. 

What happened next would be termed as the stuff of dreams as Rybakina won the prestigious WTA Finals trophy without losing a single match in the tournament that featured a group stage as well. It was a massive achievement as the coveted tournament includes the Top 8 women’s singles players in the world. To add the cherry on top, Rybakina defeated the current World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final in straight sets to lift the second big trophy of her career after her Wimbledon victory in 2022. 

Then came another landmark moment in her career, the 2026 Australian Open where she was in sublime form and reached the final at Melbourne Park without dropping a set. She avenged her 2023 final loss against Sabalenka in incredible manner, coming back from 0-3 down in the deciding set to lift the Daphne Ackhurst Trophy – her second grand slam title. In doing so, Rybakina also reclaimed her career-best ranking of World No. 3 and now has a real shot at the World No.1 ranking. 

Conclusion 

So coming to the question regarding her credentials to end the year as World No. 1, it’s definitely possible. 

Rybakina has been struck by nerves and inconsistency far too often in recent years and the big question should be regarding consistency and managing composure in difficult situations rather than talent and ability. We have all been witness to what she is capable of when she is really playing well. We also saw a major change in her during the Australian Open final where she came back from a 0-3 deficit in the decider to win five straight games and turn the match in her favour against the best player in the world. She was calm and focused under pressure and didn’t give her opponent even a minor opportunity for a comeback. 

What also sets her apart is that Rybakina has a potent weapon that not many possess on the WTA Tour – a booming first serve and an above average second serve. If she is on her best serving day, the opposition player rarely gets a look in. In addition, she has one of the best backhands on the tour along with a much-improved forehand. The only chink in her armour could be her movement on the court but she makes up for it with her awareness and excellent reading of the game. 

Based on what we saw in both the WTA Finals and the Australian Open final, she is not risk averse anymore and goes for her shots rather than engaging in long rallies and waiting for her opponent to make a mistake. This further shows growth in terms of proactiveness, confidence, match situation awareness and mental fortitude. 

If Elena Rybakina can avoid injuries and stay fit and healthy this season, there is every chance that she can take the World No.1 ranking by the end of the season. If Rybakina does take the World No. 1 ranking, it would be a sweet culmination of years of hard work, battling with issues on and off the court, dealing with massive expectations and failures and still reaching the summit. This could surely be a year where we might say – this is Elena Rybakina’s world and we are all living in it!