Aryna Sabalenka dethroned! This is the new number 1 in the world
This is what has been talked about more and more loudly in recent weeks and even months. Aryna Sabalenka is no longer number 1 in the WTA world ranking.
The Belarusian thus lost her lead after 99 weeks as the world’s highest-ranked tennis player.
Aryna Sabalenka was replaced by Yelena Rybakina. Kazazka has been consistently working towards this moment, shining since the end of the previous season. Then, Rybakina advanced to the WTA Finals. As it turned out, in the end it was Kazaszka who turned out to be the best, confirming that she had no intention of stopping.
Elena Rybakina number 1 in the world! Kazakh triumph in the US Open
The 2026 season also started impressively for the new number 1. Rybakina won her first Grand Slam tournament, winning the famous Australian Open in Melbourne.
The Kazakh woman was consistently getting closer to attacking the position of leader of the WTA rankings. To this must also be added Sabalenka’s poor form. The Belarusian has failed many times, with more poor rather than good performances in the current campaign.
Officially, she will climb to the top of Rybakina after the end of the US Open 2026. The victory she won in the match against Qinwen Zheng turned out to be crucial for Kazaszko. The same one that defeated Iga Świątek in the fourth round.
The Kazashka won against the Olympic champion (Paris 2024) in three sets. It was a tough fight, but Rybakina had more arguments than the Chinese to win in the end and secure a place in the semi-finals of the event in New York.
The 27-year-old tennis player is the 30th player in the history of the WTA ranking to top it.
It is worth recalling that before Sabalenka’s history, Iga Świątek was number 1 at the top of the world ranking. Interestingly, from April 2022 until now, no other tennis player than one of the Świątek-Sabalenka duo has been the leader of the WTA ranking. This also shows that we are witnessing an important moment and the end of an era.
Although it is by no means certain that the Kazakh woman will soon not have to defend herself against attacks from competitors who also want to become number 1 in the world. For now, however, Rybakina can enjoy both the ranking success and the best performance of her career in New York. The furthest Kazashka has reached in the US Open was a year ago, when she reached the fourth round. Now he is definitely in the semi-finals, and who knows, maybe he will play for the full prize pool and the second Grand Slam title of the season.
