Elena Rybakina reached a milestone this week: her 100th career week inside the WTA Top 5. It is also her third week at a career-high of No. 2.

Rybakina captured the second Grand Slam title of her career at the Australian Open earlier this year and lifted her ranking to No. 2 after a strong start to 2026. Her first entry into the Top 5 came on May 22nd, 2023, when she rose from No. 6 to No. 4 after winning the WTA 1000 event in Rome. That opening spell lasted 77 consecutive weeks before she dipped out on November 10th, 2024.

She returned to the Top 5 for two weeks from January 27th to February 9th, 2025, immediately following the Australian Open. A difficult portion of 2025 saw her struggle for consistency and even fall out of the Top 10. The season shifted after Wimbledon, however. Rybakina reached three straight semifinals in Washington D.C., Canada and Cincinnati, then closed 2025 on an 11-match winning streak that included winning the WTA Finals.

That unbeaten run in Riyadh carried her back into the Top 5, moving her from No. 6 to No. 5. This week marks her 21st consecutive week in the elite since that return, bringing her career total to 100 weeks.

Rybakina has maintained much of that late-2025 form into early 2026. Her best results so far this season are the title in Melbourne and a run to the final at Indian Wells. At Indian Wells she held match point against Aryna Sabalenka before finishing runner-up to the world No. 1 in a third set tie-break, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6). After Indian Wells, Rybakina rose to No. 2.

She remains 2,917 points behind Sabalenka in the rankings, 11,025 to 8,108. The upcoming clay-court season presents an opportunity for Rybakina to press for the top ranking.

Elena Rybakina reached a milestone this week: her 100th career week inside the WTA Top 5. It is also her third week at a career-high ranking of No. 2.

Rybakina earned a second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year and moved to her new career-high following strong early-2026 form. Her first entry into the Top 5 came on May 22, 2023, when she rose from No. 6 to No. 4 after winning the WTA 1000 event in Rome. That initial run stretched to 77 consecutive weeks before she dipped out on November 10, 2024.

She returned to the elite for two weeks from January 27 to February 9, 2025, immediately after the Australian Open. A difficult stretch for much of 2025 saw Rybakina struggle for consistency and fall out of the Top 10, but her season turned after Wimbledon. She reached three straight semifinals in Washington D.C., Canada and Cincinnati, then closed 2025 on an 11-match winning streak that included the WTA Finals.

That undefeated run in Riyadh carried her back into the Top 5, moving her from No. 6 to No. 5. This week marks her 21st consecutive week in the Top 5 since that return, bringing her overall total to 100 weeks.

Rybakina has extended much of that late-2025 momentum into 2026. The highlights so far this season are her title run in Melbourne and a run to the final at Indian Wells. At Indian Wells she held match point against Aryna Sabalenka before finishing runner-up to the world No. 1 in a third set tie-break, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6). After Indian Wells, Rybakina rose to No. 2.

She remains behind Sabalenka in the rankings by 2,917 points, 11,025 to 8,108, but the coming clay-court season presents an opportunity for Rybakina to press for the top ranking.

Elena Rybakina recovered from a first-set loss to beat Jessica Pegula 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and advance to the Miami Open semifinals. The third seed completed the comeback in two hours and 15 minutes at Hard Rock Stadium, recording a fourth straight victory over the No. 5 seed.

The win sets up a possible rematch with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who was scheduled to play her quarterfinal Wednesday evening against Hailey Baptiste. Rybakina’s progression marks her third WTA semifinal of the 2026 season.

Rybakina arrived in Miami off a runner-up finish at the BNP Paribas Open, where she came within a point of defeating Sabalenka. That narrow loss did not halt momentum that began at the end of last season when she captured the WTA Finals title in Riyadh. She reached the Miami quarterfinals without dropping a set.

Pegula, the American home favorite, had been a familiar opponent. She fell in straight sets to Rybakina last week at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and had also lost to her in Riyadh and in the Australian Open semifinals. The Miami quarterfinal opened badly for Pegula, who raced to a 4-0 lead and closed out the first set 6-2.

The match shifted early in the second set when Pegula held three break points in the fifth game but could not convert. Rybakina then won seven of the next eight games to level the match and earned a 2-0 lead in the decider.

The third set was tightly contested. Pegula saved three break points in the fifth game and pressed again on Rybakina’s serve, but Rybakina answered, saving a break point of her own and finishing the match on a match point created by a strong serve-forehand combination. Her final point came on a service winner, sealing the comeback and a place in the semifinals.