Rybakina climbs Race to Riyadh

Elena Rybakina moved back to No. 1 in the WTA’s Race to Riyadh after winning the Stuttgart title on April 19. (wtatennis.com) The official Race leaderboard now lists Rybakina on 3,983 points and Aryna Sabalenka on 3,800, with Jessica Pegula third on 2,905. (wtatennis.com) Rybakina took that lead by beating Karolina Muchova 7-5, 6-1 in 1 hour, 18 minutes in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final for her 13th career WTA singles title. (wtatennis.com) The Race is the year-to-date standings for the eight singles spots at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, so it resets each season and tracks only 2026 results. (wtatennis.com) That is different from the main WTA rankings, which use a rolling 52-week system. In those standings, Sabalenka remains World No. 1 with 10,895 points, while Rybakina is No. 2 with 8,500. (wtatennis.com) The shift follows a spring in which Sabalenka swept the “Sunshine Double” in March, then missed Stuttgart, and Rybakina used the opening on clay. WTA’s weekly review said the “pendulum” between the two has swung back and forth all year. (wtatennis.com) Rybakina’s Stuttgart run came through a 28-player draw and included four Top 25 wins in four days, with straight-set victories over Mirra Andreeva in the semifinals and Muchova in the final. (wtatennis.com) Her 2026 season started fast as well: the WTA’s first Race update in February put her on top after a quarterfinal in Brisbane and the Australian Open title, where she beat Sabalenka in the final. (wtatennis.com) By mid-March, Rybakina had reached another Indian Wells final and had won 12 straight matches against Top 10 opponents dating to October, with recent final wins over Sabalenka in Riyadh and Melbourne. (wtatennis.com) For now, the split is clear: Sabalenka still holds the tour’s top overall ranking, but Rybakina has the best 2026 record in the standings that decide who gets to Riyadh. (wtatennis.com)