Elena Rybakina battled past teenager Victoria Mboko 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to reach the Pan Pacific Open semi-finals and clinch the final qualifying spot for next month’s WTA Finals in Riyadh.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion needed to reach the last four in Tokyo to surpass 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the race for the season-ending event and she did so with typical composure and power.
Rybakina’s victory over the promising 19-year-old Canadian capped off a strong run of form that included lifting the Ningbo Open title last week, ensuring her place among the world’s elite for a third straight year.
The Kazakh star now joins Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula and Jasmine Paolini in the elite field for the WTA Finals, which begin on November 1 in Saudi Arabia.
“It’s great to qualify and play some more matches, especially against top players,” Rybakina said after the win. “Last week I was focusing one match at a time, but I knew it would be a long road.”
Set to rise to world number six in the latest rankings, Rybakina will face Czech sixth seed Linda Noskova in Saturday’s Tokyo semi-final as she looks to continue her fine late-season surge.
