Rybakina clinches last berth for the WTA Finals in Riyadh as season’s drama peaks
24 October 2025
Rybakina clinches final WTA Finals berth in Riyadh
Kazakh star Elena Rybakina sealed the last of the eight spots for the season-ending WTA Finals in Riyadh by reaching the Tokyo Open semi-finals, beating Canada’s Victoria Mboko 6-3, 7-6(7-4) on Friday.
Rybakina, the Tokyo No. 2 seed, said it was "great to qualify and play more matches, especially against players of high class".
She added, "Last week I focused on each match, knowing the road to qualification would be long".
She also noted, "In the end, things went well there".
The WTA Finals lineup
Elena Rybakina, the Wimbledon 2022 champion, joined the eight-woman field headed to Riyadh from November 1-8. She'll be joined by Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus), Iga Swiatek (Poland), Coco Gauff (USA), Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, and Jasmine Paolini (Italy). Teenage Russian Mira Andreeva, age 18, was left out of the final eight but remains Riyadh’s first alternate in case of withdrawal.
The finals stay in Riyadh for a second consecutive year, following last year’s edition won by Coco Gauff over Chinese star Qinwen Jin in the final. The event returned tennis to Asia for the first time since Shenzhen in 2019.
Among this year’s participants, only Coco Gauff (2022) and Iga Swiatek (2023) had previously lifted the year-end trophy.
Rybakina, 26, ended the season strongly with the Ningbo title in China last Sunday, her second trophy of the year after Strasbourg, and she also reached the Tokyo semi-finals.
She was set to face Czech Linda Noskova in Tokyo as she pursues a 11th career title.
In Tokyo Open action, Rybakina opened with an easy win over Canadian Leylah Fernandez, prevailing 6-4, 6-3 in the second round.
In Basel, Canadian Denis Shapovalov reached the quarterfinals by defeating the lucky loser Valentin Rueiro 7-6, 6-2, and would meet João Fonseca in the quarterfinals after Jakub Menšík withdrew, the seventh seed.
Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime, the fifth seed, fought past Marin Čilić in two tight sets (7-6, 7-6) and awaits the winner of Jaume Munar vs Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals.
Vienna saw Matteo Berrettini reach the quarterfinals after a hard-fought three-set win over Cameron Norrie, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, to set up a clash with third seed Alex de Minaur.
World No.1 race emphasis: Sinner vs. Alcaraz
The year's end title battle remains focused on the No.1 race between Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and Italian Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz currently leads the direct path to Turin by about 2,540 points, while Sinner looks to close the gap in Vienna.
Alcaraz’s absence in Vienna would give Sinner a prime chance to pull closer, and even if Sinner wins Paris and Turin (up to 2,500 points), overtaking Alcaraz would be a tall order. After Vienna, the men head to Paris Masters (1,000) and the Nitto ATP Finals (up to 1,500), keeping the title race open until the final shot of the season.
For Sinner to grab No.1 by season’s end, he must maximize points at the last three events while hoping for a dip in Alcaraz’s near-perfect run (67-7 win-loss this year). In the end, both players chase the No.1 ranking for the second time, after Alcaraz held it in 2022 and Sinner retained it in 2024, leaving the finish line wide open to all possibilities.
Punchline time: My backhand is so unreliable even the ball asks for a timeout. Punchline two: In tennis as in comedy, timing is everything—unfortunately, my timing is still stuck on the warm-up lap.
