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.
About the tournament
- EventToray Pan Pacific Open, 52nd edition
- CategoryWTA 500
- Dates26 October - 1 November 2026
- VenueAriake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan
- Surfaceoutdoor hard
- Draw28 players in singles
- Prize money$1,206,446
- 2025 championBelinda Bencic
This is the final WTA 500 event of the season; after it only the WTA Finals in Indian Wells remain. The draw is small - 28 players - so the top four seeds begin in the second round and the title takes four wins.
The draw and the seedings
Rybakina is the top seed. With a first-round bye she opens in the second round per the WTA draw against Yulia Putintseva, who came through qualifying and beat Maria Sakkari 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round. Seedings followed the rankings of 19 October: behind Rybakina come Maja Chwalinska, Diana Shnaider, Belinda Bencic, Elise Mertens, Sorana Cirstea, Naomi Osaka and Alexandra Eala.
The field changed before a ball was struck: defending champion Bencic withdrew with an injury, and so did the second seed, Chwalinska. Leylah Fernandez remains in Rybakina's quarter - the player who took four games off her in the Ningbo final two days earlier.
A Kazakh derby in the second round
Result: on 29 October Rybakina beat Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour 10 minutes. According to the WTA, she never lost serve, saved the only break point she faced in the final game and closed the match with her sixth ace. The roof was closed; afterwards Rybakina said these conditions suit her because the ball flies faster.
Before Tokyo their head-to-head stood at 2-2: Putintseva won the first two meetings, in 2020 and 2021, and Rybakina the next two, in Madrid in 2024 and Miami in 2026. It is now 3-2 to Rybakina. The match-up is analysed on the Putintseva page.
According to the WTA, the win secured the year-end No. 1 ranking for Rybakina for the first time in her career. A question that could have dragged on to the WTA Finals in Indian Wells was settled in Tokyo.
Quarterfinal: withdrawal with a neck injury
Result: on 30 October Rybakina withdrew before her quarterfinal against Leylah Fernandez, handing the Canadian a walkover into the semifinals. According to the WTA, the reason is a neck injury. In her statement Rybakina explained that inflammation and pain in her neck had been affecting her ability to play at her best, called it a very difficult decision and said she hopes to be back in Tokyo next year.
Fernandez reached the quarterfinals by beating Elise Mertens 6-2, 7-6(8). Walkovers do not count in the head-to-head, so Rybakina still leads 4-2. In the semifinals Fernandez plays lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova. How the injury affects the WTA Finals on 8–15 November has not been announced yet.
What is at stake
Rybakina came to Tokyo as world No. 1: 9,501 points against Aryna Sabalenka's 7,550 in the ranking of 26 October. Points here count towards the rolling 52 weeks, and Rybakina settled the year-end No. 1 question here too, with her second-round win. How the maths works is on the WTA ranking page.
The schedule is a story of its own. The Ningbo final was played on 25 October and the Tokyo main draw started on the 26th: the flight and the time-zone change fell on the same day. Rybakina herself announced her Tokyo entry with a video on her own account before the Asian swing began.
Match times
Tokyo is on UTC+9: four hours ahead of Astana and six ahead of Moscow. An evening session at 6:00 p.m. local time starts at 2:00 p.m. in Kazakhstan.
| Tokyo | Astana | London |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 | 07:00 | 02:00 |
| 14:00 | 10:00 | 05:00 |
| 18:00 | 14:00 | 09:00 |
The rest of the season
| 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.
Where to watch
Legal broadcasters are listed on the where to watch page. The order of play appears the evening before, and her match reaches calendar subscribers by itself.
Do not miss the match
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.
Frequently asked questions
When is the 2026 Tokyo tournament?
From 26 October to 1 November 2026 at Ariake Coliseum.
Is Rybakina playing in Tokyo?
Not any more. She was the top seed, had a first-round bye, beat Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3 in the second round on 29 October and on 30 October withdrew before her quarterfinal against Leylah Fernandez with a neck injury.
What does a win in Tokyo give Rybakina?
According to the WTA, her second-round win over Putintseva secured the year-end world No. 1 ranking for the first time in her career.
Who won the Tokyo tournament in 2025?
Belinda Bencic. She withdrew from the 2026 edition with an injury.
What time are the Tokyo matches in Astana?
Tokyo is four hours ahead of Astana: a 6:00 p.m. local start is 2:00 p.m. in Astana.