Rybakina comments on WTA ranking race with Sabalenka
Kazakhstani tennis player Elena Rybakina (World No. 2) commented on the possibility of closing the gap on World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA rankings. After advancing to the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto, Rybakina retains the chance to cut Sabalenka’s lead to just four points.
«I try not to think about it because I still have to win a lot of matches,» Punto de Break cited Rybakina as saying.
The Kazakhstani player highlighted that what matters more to her now is the quality of her own game and making progress following a less-than-successful stretch of the grass-court season.
«For me, the most important thing right now is to see how I continue to improve,» Rybakina said.
To cut the gap to four points, Rybakina must win the tournament. Sabalenka has already ended her run in Toronto, losing to Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova (World No. 19) in the fourth round, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 4-6. At the same time, Sabalenka’s reaching the round of 16 guaranteed her the No. 1 ranking after the tournament, regardless of Rybakina’s further results.
Before the tournament, Sabalenka had 8,550 points, while Rybakina had 8,056. At the same time, the Kazakhstani player is defending 390 points from last year’s semifinal at the WTA 1000 tournament in Canada.
Rybakina comes back from 0-3 in decisive set
On Aug. 9, Rybakina defeated Liudmila Samsonova (World No. 47) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto. In the decisive set, the Kazakhstani trailed 0-3 and was down two breaks, but managed to turn the match around. The match lasted two hours and 49 minutes.
When there's a will, there's a way 😤
— wta (@WTA) August 9, 2026
Elena Rybakina overcomes Samsonova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to return to the Toronto quarterfinals.#NBO26 pic.twitter.com/DAgkZGZAzm
In the quarterfinals, the World No. 2 will face four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka (World No. 13). In the fourth round, the Japanese player defeated Canadian Leylah Fernandez (World No. 34) 6-4, 6-4. This will be the first official meeting between Osaka and Rybakina.
