Elena Rybakina continued her fantastic start to the season at the Sunshine Double, where she reached a final and a semifinal.
Rybakina lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the final of Indian Wells, and suffered the same fate against the Belarusian in the Miami Open semifinal.
World number one Sabalenka won both WTA 1000 tournaments to complete the Sunshine Double, but Rybakina can hold her head very high after her efforts.
The Kazakhstan ace now finds herself second in the WTA rankings, and boasts a 21-5 win-loss record for the 2026 season.
And she’s also just hit an important career milestone ahead of the clay-court swing, which is now underway on the WTA Tour.
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Elena Rybakina hits 100th week inside WTA top 5
Very impressively, Rybakina is now spending her milestone 100th career week inside the top 5 of the WTA rankings.
She only just hit her career-high of WTA number two after Indian Wells, with that milestone arriving shortly after she won the Australian Open.
The 26-year-old superstar has also taken on Brisbane and Qatar in 2026, where she reached the quarterfinals.
And there was also a round of 16 exit for Rybakina in Dubai, although she did retire midway through that match.
Overall, it’s been a season to remember so far for the two-time Grand Slam champion, who now enters the clay-court swing with world number one Sabalenka in her sights.
For an added confidence boost, Rybakina remarkably represents the only player to have beaten Sabalenka this season, in which she boasts a daunting 23-1 record.
Who will be ranked higher by the end of 2026 – Elena Rybakina or Aryna Sabalenka?
How close is Elena Rybakina to Aryna Sabalenka’s number one ranking?
Rybakina and Sabalenka have a thrilling rivalry, which has remarkably involved three battles this season alone.
After losing their Australian Open final, the Belarusian quickly turned things around, extending her head-to-head record with her rival to 10-7.
She also holds the bragging rights in the WTA rankings, which currently stand at 11,025 for Sabalenka and 8,108 for Rybakina.
But that 2,917-point gap could be seriously reduced in the clay-court swing, during which the world number two might just challenge the longstanding dominance of the world number one.
However, world number three Coco Gauff has a fantastic record on clay, and may just be the player to beat on the surface this season.
She follows Rybakina on 7,278 points, with fellow clay specialist Iga Swiatek not far behind on 7,263.
| Rank | Player | Points |
| 1 | Aryna Sabalenka | 11,025 |
| 2 | Elena Rybakina | 8,108 |
| 3 | Coco Gauff | 7,278 |
| 4 | Iga Swiatek | 7,263 |
| 5 | Jessica Pegula | 6,243 |
| 6 | Amanda Anisimova | 6,180 |
| 7 | Elina Svitolina | 3,965 |
| 8 | Jasmine Paolini | 3,907 |
| 9 | Victoria Mboko | 3,531 |
| 10 | Mirra Andreeva | 3,121 |
And despite her struggles of late and Swiatek recently splitting with Wim Fissette, her history on the surface speaks for itself.
Gauff may have won the 2025 French Open, but the Pole clinched the title in each of the three years prior, taking her career tally to four.
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