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.
Remaining 2026 calendar
| Tournament | Category | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billie Jean King Cup - Finals Entry confirmed Shenzhen, China | Team event (BJK Cup) hard | September 22–27 | Kazakhstan reached the Finals by beating Canada 3-1 in qualifying, but on 23 September, without Elena Rybakina, they lost to Spain 1-2 in the quarterfinals. Rybakina did not travel to Shenzhen: on 18 September she announced her withdrawal with a left ankle injury. Kazakhstan were represented by Yulia Putintseva, Anna Danilina, Zhibek Kulambayeva and Sonja Zhiyenbayeva; Putintseva won the only point. |
| Wuhan Open Wuhan, China | WTA 1000 hard | October 12–18 | On 4 October Rybakina withdrew from the tournament with injury, a day after her second-round loss at the China Open. In 2025 she reached the quarterfinals in Wuhan. The WTA 1000 event will go ahead without her; her next scheduled event is Ningbo. |
| WTA Finals Defending title Indian Wells, United States | WTA Finals hard | November 8–15 | The season-ending event for the top eight has moved from Riyadh to Indian Wells. Rybakina is the defending champion: she beat Aryna Sabalenka 6–3, 7–6(0) in the 2025 final. Her place among the eight for 2026 was already secured with the ranking update on 14 September. |
Asian swing dates follow the standard WTA calendar and are confirmed by organisers. Top players enter shortly before each event - the status column is updated as official announcements appear.
How the order of play is decided
- The draw. Made one or two days before the start; it fixes the opponents for each round.
- Match day. At Grand Slams rounds are played every other day; at WTA 1000 events they often run on consecutive days.
- Order of play. The schedule with courts and match order is published the evening before.
- Exact times. Known only for the first match of a session. Everything after that is listed as “not before” and depends on how long the earlier matches run.
A practical tip. If Rybakina is second or third on a session, allow two to three hours beyond the stated “not before” time. A three-set women's match on hard courts regularly runs past two hours.
What she is defending this autumn
Holding the No. 1 ranking is a matter of arithmetic over 52 weeks. At the end of 2025 Rybakina won Ningbo and the WTA Finals - the largest block of points available in the autumn, and all of it now on the line. How the calculation works is explained on the ranking page.
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The next match has not been scheduled yet. Subscribe to the calendar and it will appear there as soon as the organisers publish the order of play.
How to read a tournament draw
A Grand Slam draw contains 128 players and seven rounds. Thirty-two are seeded by ranking and positioned so that the top names cannot meet early: the first and second seeds can only meet in the final, the first and fourth no earlier than the semifinals.
The rest of the positions are drawn at random, which is where the idea of a “tough half” comes from - when chance concentrates several dangerous unseeded players in one quarter. At WTA 1000 events the draw is smaller (96 or 64) and the top seeds receive a first-round bye.
What seeding means and why it matters
Seeding is set by the ranking at the entry deadline, usually a few weeks before a tournament. That is why the No. 1 WTA ranking is not only status but a practical advantage: the top seed gets what is, in theory, the most navigable path.
Seeding also affects scheduling. Seeded players are more often placed on show courts and in night sessions, which are broadcast in full. Unseeded matches are frequently sent to outside courts where there may be no camera at all.
Related news
- RankingMatches
Rybakina beats Putintseva in Tokyo and secures year-end No. 1
On 29 October Elena Rybakina beat Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour 10 minutes in the second round of the WTA 500 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. According to the WTA, the win secured the year-end No. 1 ranking for her for the first time in her career. Rybakina never lost serve, saved the only break point she faced in the final game and closed the match with her sixth ace. Afterwards she said matches against Putintseva are always difficult and that the closed roof helped her: the ball flies faster, and such conditions suit her. The head-to-head is now 3-2 to Rybakina, and her winning streak has reached five matches. In the quarterfinals she will face Leylah Fernandez, whom she beat in the Ningbo final: the Canadian defeated Elise Mertens 6-2, 7-6(8). The time of the 30 October match will be known once the WTA publishes the order of play.
Source: WTA, Tennis Explorer - TournamentsMatches
Rybakina to face Putintseva in the Tokyo second round
On 27 October Yulia Putintseva, who reached the Toray Pan Pacific Open main draw through qualifying, beat Maria Sakkari in the first round 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. She now meets Elena Rybakina: the tournament's top seed had a first-round bye. According to Tennis Explorer, the second-round match is scheduled for 29 October; it is not on the WTA order of play published for 28 October, and the exact time will be known once the WTA releases the next day's schedule. Tokyo is four hours ahead of Astana. The head-to-head between the two Kazakhstan players stands at 2-2: Putintseva won their first two matches, in 2020 and 2021, and Rybakina the last two, in Madrid in 2024 and Miami in 2026. The win over Sakkari is already Putintseva's third at the event, after two qualifying victories. Tokyo is Rybakina's last tournament before the WTA Finals, where she is the defending champion.
Source: WTA, Tennis Explorer - TournamentsMatches
Rybakina defends her Ningbo title: 6-2, 6-2 over Leylah Fernandez in the final
On 25 October Elena Rybakina won the WTA 500 event in Ningbo, beating Canada's Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 6-2 in the final in 1 hour 16 minutes. According to the WTA, she never lost her serve and saved all four break points she faced. In the quarterfinal Rybakina beat Katarzyna Kawa 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, and in the semifinal Diana Shnaider 6-3, 7-5. It is the first successful title defence of her career, her fourth trophy of the season - more than any other player in 2026 - and the 15th of her career. She is now eight wins from eight matches in Ningbo. After the final Rybakina said Ningbo had become a special place for her and that the win gives her extra motivation for the rest of the season. The champion receives 500 ranking points and $185,500 in prize money. Her next event is Tokyo, where she is the top seed.
Source: WTA, AP, Tennis Explorer
Frequently asked questions
What is Elena Rybakina's next tournament?
Elena Rybakina's next tournament: WTA Finals (Indian Wells, November 8–15).
When is Elena Rybakina's next match?
Elena Rybakina's next tournament: WTA Finals (Indian Wells, November 8–15). The order of play for a given day is published the evening before.
Which tournaments will Rybakina play in the rest of 2026?
On the current calendar: WTA Finals (Indian Wells, November 8–15).
Why is the start time listed as “not before”?
Exact times are known only for the first match of a session. Later matches begin when the previous ones finish.