Rybakina secures year-end top rank

WORLD No. 1 Elena Rybakina hailed her “amazing achievement” after securing the year-end top ranking with a 6-2, 6-3 win over fellow Kazakh Yulia Putintseva in Japan on Thursday. Rybakina became world No. 1 for the first time last month in winning the US Open, replacing Aryna Sabalenka at the summit. She ensured she will start 2027 on top after a comfortable opening match in Tokyo, swatting aside world No. 67 Putintseva at the Pan Pacific Open in 70 minutes. The achievement capped a year in which Rybakina also won the Australian Open in January and now has three Grand Slam titles. “It means a lot, this is something we worked for with the team,” said the 27-year-old. “So many great players and we are all really close to each other, and I’m happy that now with last week and with today’s win I made it possible to secure number one at the end of the year. “It’s an amazing achievement and hopefully we can continue this way next year,” she added. Moscow-born Rybakina has already secured her place at next month’s season-ending WTA Finals at Indian Wells. She arrived in Tokyo after winning her fourth title of the season last week at the Ningbo Open in China. She...