Does the world No. 1 crown beckon for Elena Rybakina?

Elena Rybakina is currently on a dream run. Fresh from winning her second major at the 2026 Australian Open, the Kazakh has hit a purple patch. She reclaimed her career-best world No. 3 ranking after winning the AO, having comprehensively beaten several top ten players on her way to the title.

The massive upsurge in Rybakina’s form since the WTA Finals has led to speculation and debate in the tennis world on whether she is ready to scale the absolute summit — reach world No. 1 in the WTA rankings.

To answer this, we will need to look at her sudden rise to fame, achievements, off-court distractions, and her comeback over 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 tour at the time and was ranked outside the top ten, but she wasn’t viewed as a potential Grand Slam winner yet.

On her way to the Wimbledon title, Rybakina defeated a former Wimbledon champion, Simona Halep, in the semi-final, which she 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 en route to the final, especially the then world No. 1, Iga Swiatek. She then made back-to-back finals at Indian Wells and the Miami Open in 2023, winning her first WTA 1000 title at Indian Wells. She ended that year in impressive fashion, breaking into the top eight rankings and securing qualification for her first WTA Finals.

The 2024 season also started well for Rybakina as she won the Brisbane International and the Abu Dhabi Open. She reached the finals of two WTA 1000 events — the Qatar Open and the Miami Open — while she also made the quarter-final at the French Open and the semi-final at Wimbledon. Rybakina again ended the year in the top eight 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 match of her WTA Finals campaign amid off-court chatter surrounding her long-time coach, Stefano Vukov.

Off-court distractions and comeback in 2025

Rybakina had parted ways with Vukov prior to the 2024 US Open, after he had been banned by the WTA for breaching the code of conduct. Rybakina then secured the services of Croatian 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 once Vukov returned to the fold.

The Kazakh suffered due to sickness and injury issues during the first half of the season, often withdrawing from tournaments and having disastrous performances at the majors; she didn’t qualify for the quarter-finals at any of the Grand Slams. She also slipped down the rankings, falling outside the top eight, and there was genuine concern that she might not qualify for the WTA Finals.

Then came the turnaround that shocked everyone. Rybakina proved true the age-old adage that the comeback is always greater than the setback. She won the Ningbo Open (WTA 500), reached the semi-finals of the Canada Open (WTA 1000), and reached the semi-finals of the Japan Open (WTA 250), moving up the rankings and qualifying for the year-ending WTA Finals by moving into the top eight.

What happened next would be termed the stuff of dreams, as Rybakina won the prestigious WTA Finals trophy without losing a single match, including the group stage. It was a massive achievement, as the coveted tournament includes the top eight 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 Akhurst Memorial Cup, 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 taking the summit for herself.

Conclusion

So, can Elena Rybakina reach the WTA summit?

It’s definitely possible.

Rybakina has been struck by nerves and inconsistency far too often in recent years, so the bigger question is: can she be sufficiently consistent and manage composure in difficult situations? Her talent and ability are undeniable, and we’ve all been witnesses to what she’s capable of when she’s on song.

We also saw a major change in her game 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, 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 to go with an above-average second serve. If she is on her best serving day, the opponent 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, Rybakina 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 she can avoid injuries and stay fit this season, there’s every chance Elena Rybakina takes the world No. 1 ranking by the end of the year. If she does manage to reach the summit, it would be a sweet culmination of years of hard work after battling with issues both on and off the court and dealing with massive expectations and failures.

This really could be the year where we get to say that this is Elena Rybakina’s world, and we are all living in it!