World No 4 Elena Rybakina has sealed a WTA Finals spot and she will be making her debut at the prestigious season-ending tournament later this year. Following the quarterfinal results at the US Open, Rybakina officially qualified for the WTA Finals. On the Race to the WTA Finals, Rybakina is the third player with 5,476 points. Previously, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek sealed spots for this year’s WTA Finals. Rybakina, 24, will be making her debut at the WTA Finals. Last year, Rybakina would have qualified for the WTA Finals had her 2,000 ranking points from her 2022 Wimbledon victory counted. But this year, all of Rybakina’s points have counted and she is set for her WTA Finals debut later this year.
Elena Rybakina© Getty Images Sport – Minas Panagiotakis
Rybakina loses early at the US Open but seals a WTA Finals spot
Although Rybakina didn’t make a deep US Open run, following the results of some other players, she still managed to seal a WTA Finals spot at Flushing Meadows. At the US Open, Rybakina reached the third round before suffering a surprise defeat to Sorana Cirstea. After Cirstea stunned Rybakina with a 6-4 6-7 (6) 6-4 score, the Romanian spoke extremely highly of the Kazakh, calling her “a great player” and “a sweetheart.” “She’s a great player. She’s number four in the world for a reason and she’s also a sweetheart and I think she’s wonderful for our tour. I’ve lost twice against her before, and she’s a very good player. It’s a great win for me, especially because I played well and I really think I gave everything I had tonight and I deserved this win. And again, thank you everyone for the support,” Cirstea said after beating Rybakina. Leading up to the US Open, Rybakina battled certain injuries and that could have played a factor in the Kazakh’s early exit from the final Grand Slam tournament of the year.