Rybakina eyes No. 1 after rising to career-high ranking at Indian Wells
Elena Rybakina is the new world No. 2 after Indian Wells, and she is not stopping there – the Australian Open champion says becoming WTA world No. 1 is her next goal. With Sabalenka facing a mountain of points to defend through Roland-Garros, the title race is wide open.
Elena Rybakina, Indian Wells 2026 | © Zuma / PsNewz
Elena Rybakina used Sunday’s Indian Wells final as a springboard for an even loftier ambition – dethroning Aryna Sabalenka as world No. 1.
The Kazakh star, who climbed to a career-high No. 2 in the WTA rankings following her run at the BNP Paribas Open, made clear after the final that the summit of women’s tennis is now firmly in her crosshairs.
“My goal is to get even higher in the ranking, to get this position as No. 1,” Rybakina said in her post-match press conference. “It’s definitely my biggest goal, my next goal. I will try to do it this year, and hopefully it happens.”
few points to defend
The path, however, remains steep. Sabalenka has held the No. 1 ranking for more than 80 consecutive weeks, one of the most dominant stretches in recent women’s tennis history, and currently sits roughly 3,000 points clear of her nearest challenger.
“To stay so long as No. 1, you need to be very consistent,” Rybakina acknowledged. “She showed great tennis for the past couple of years.”
Yet the window over the coming months may be narrower than it appears for the Belarusian world No. 1. Sabalenka faces a crushing 4,035 points to defend in just the next three months – a figure that reflects her extraordinary run of results through the spring of 2025 – out of a total of 10,675 points currently on her ranking tally.
Rybakina, by contrast, carries just 998 points to defend through Roland-Garros, with the largest single chunk being the 500 points from her 2025 Strasbourg title. That asymmetry in defensive obligations gives the 26-year-old a genuine, if still demanding, opportunity to close the gap significantly before the clay season concludes in Paris.
Unstoppable since end of 2025
Sunday’s final at Indian Wells will add a new chapter to a career that has accelerated sharply over the past months. Her 2025 season underscored just how dangerous she has become across all surfaces. She capped the year by winning the WTA Finals in Riyadh (against Sabalenka), going a perfect 5-0 and defeating Sabalenka in the final to collect $5.235 million – the largest prize money payout in the history of women’s sport.
She also added titles in Strasbourg and Ningbo and led the Tour in total aces with 516, a number that speaks to the raw power that makes her so difficult to contain.
Reaching No. 2 for the first time gives her a formal foothold in the conversation at the very top of the sport. Whether she can convert that into gold remains the question that will define her spring.
“It all depends on the other players too,” she said. “But yeah, I will try.”
