Season timeline
| Tournament | Surface | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane International Brisbane, January | hard | Quarterfinal | Lost to Karolína Muchová. |
| Australian Open Melbourne, January | hard | Title Title | Her second Grand Slam title. She beat Iga Świątek in the quarterfinals (3–6, 6–1, 6–0) and Aryna Sabalenka in the final (6–4, 4–6, 6–4). |
| Qatar Open Doha, February | hard | Quarterfinal | Lost to Victoria Mboko. She recorded her 400th career win at this event. |
| Dubai Tennis Championships Dubai, February | hard | Third round (retired) | Retired mid-match in the third round with illness. |
| Indian Wells Open Indian Wells, March | hard | Final | Lost the final to Aryna Sabalenka in a deciding-set tie-break. The result took her to No. 2 in the WTA rankings. |
| Miami Open Miami, March | hard | Semifinal | Lost to Aryna Sabalenka 4–6, 3–6. |
| Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Stuttgart, April | clay | Title Title | Her second Stuttgart title, beating Karolína Muchová 7–5, 6–1 in the final. |
| Madrid Open Madrid, May | clay | Fourth round | - |
| Italian Open Rome, May | clay | Quarterfinal | - |
| Roland Garros Paris, May–June | clay | Second round | A shock loss to Yuliia Starodubtseva - her worst Grand Slam result of the season. |
| Queen's Club London, June | grass | Quarterfinal | - |
| Berlin Open Berlin, June | grass | Second round | - |
| Wimbledon London, July | grass | Third round | Lost to Elise Mertens. She also recorded her 300th WTA main-draw win at the event. |
| National Bank Open Toronto, August | hard | Final | She beat Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals and Coco Gauff in the semifinals, then lost the final to Iga Świątek 2–6, 3–6. |
| Cincinnati Open Cincinnati, August | hard | Quarterfinal (retired) | Retired against Iga Świątek with a left ankle injury. |
| US Open New York, August–September | hard | Final | Her first US Open final, reached by beating Naomi Osaka, Zheng Qinwen and Coco Gauff. The final against Aryna Sabalenka is on 12 September. |
What defined the season
January: the Melbourne title
The Australian Open was the turning point. In the quarterfinals Rybakina recovered from a set down against Iga Świątek (3–6, 6–1, 6–0), then edged Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set final. A second Grand Slam, and her first on hard courts.
Spring: two finals, no trophy
Indian Wells and Miami exposed the ceiling: on both occasions Sabalenka blocked the path. Stuttgart, however, delivered her second clay-court title, with a straight-sets win over Karolína Muchová in the final.
May to July: the Grand Slam slump
A second-round exit at Roland Garros (to Yuliia Starodubtseva) and a third-round defeat at Wimbledon (to Elise Mertens) made up the worst stretch of her year. The 2022 Wimbledon title defence never got going.
August: a Toronto final and an injury
In Toronto she beat Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff before losing the final to Świątek 2–6, 3–6. A week later in Cincinnati came an ankle injury and a mid-match retirement.
September: the US Open and No. 1
Despite the injury she confirmed her US Open entry and reached her first semifinal in New York, securing the world No. 1 ranking along the way.
How the season compares with previous years
Forty-two wins against thirteen losses is the best record of Rybakina's career. For comparison, in 2023, the year she finished ranked fourth, the ratio was noticeably less favourable; in 2024, with three titles, she ended the year only sixth.
The fundamental difference in 2026 is consistency against the elite. An 8–5 record against the top ten means she won more than half of her matches against the strongest players in the world. That figure, rather than the number of titles, explains her arrival at the top of the WTA rankings.
Frequently asked questions
How many matches has Rybakina won in 2026?
42 wins against 13 losses going into the US Open semifinals - the best record of her career.
Which tournaments did Rybakina win in 2026?
The Australian Open in January and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart in April.
What was Rybakina's earliest exit in 2026?
The second round of Roland Garros, to Yuliia Starodubtseva - her worst Grand Slam result of the season.