On the strength of six straight wins, Elena Rybakina jumped past Mirra Andreeva to earn the last qualifying spot for the season-ending WTA Tour Finals.
Andreeva, who had been in the eighth and final position in the standings, opted against playing in either of this week’s tournaments after losing to world No. 219 Zhu Lin at last week’s Ningbo Open in China. That continued a frustrating recent streak for the 18-year-old Russian.
Rybakina jumped through that open door with wins over Canadians Leylah Fernandez and Victoria Mboko to reach the semifinals in the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and secure her spot in the WTA Finals Riyadh.
The 26-year-old entered the Tokyo tournament on the heels of winning the Ningbo title.
Rybakina, whose last grand slam win was the 2022 Wimbledon title, joins Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula and Jasmine Paolini in the elite field for Riyadh.
Andreeva now is the first alternate, while fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova is the second alternate.
“The world-class singles field for the WTA Finals is now set, and I can’t wait to welcome this inspiring group of athletes to Riyadh,” WTA Finals Tournament Director Garbine Muguruza said. “This season, we have seen eight different champions across WTA 1000 tournaments and the Grand Slams showing the incredible depth and drama of the WTA Tour, with the perfect curtain-call now ready to take place at the WTA Finals.”
Rybakina will be competing at the WTA Finals for the third straight year. Her first appearance, in 2023, made history when she became Kazakhstan’s first singles qualifier in the event.
The 2025 WTA Finals Riyadh takes place Nov. 1-8, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams according to the PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard.
–Field Level Media
