Elena Fansthe Elena Rybakina fan site
Updated September 30, 2026

Rybakina trains in Beijing ahead of her China Open start

On 30 September Elena Rybakina continued her preparation for her opening match at the China Open with a practice session on the tournament courts in Beijing, Sports.kz reports. On Instagram the world No. 1 posted photos from Beijing with the caption "Back on court and ready for the Asian swing!". This is Rybakina's first tournament since winning the US Open: in September a left ankle injury forced her to withdraw from the Billie Jean King Cup. In Beijing she is the top seed and starts in the second round. Her opponent will be decided on 1 October in the match between Yuliia Starodubtseva (WTA No. 45) and Alina Charaeva (No. 118), and Rybakina will play her first match no earlier than 2 October. After Beijing she plans to play the WTA 1000 in Wuhan and the WTA 500 in Ningbo, where she is defending her 2025 title.

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Source: Sports.kz, Instagram @lenarybakina

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Tokyo: withdrawal before the quarterfinal
Tokyo · WTA 500 · 26 October – 1 November

On 30 October Rybakina withdrew from the Tokyo tournament before her quarterfinal against Leylah Fernandez. According to the WTA, the reason is a neck injury: inflammation and pain are stopping her from playing at her best. A day earlier, by beating Yulia Putintseva, she secured the year-end world No. 1 ranking.

Next on the calendar is the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, 8–15 November. How the injury affects her participation has not been announced yet.

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