WTA Rankings Race To Riyadh: Rybakina leads, Mboko & Jovic star, Swiatek & Gauff not in top 8
Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina leads the way in the Race to the WTA Finals in Riyadh after the opening month of the 2026 season.
The eight women who earn the most ranking points in the 2026 campaign will qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals, which will be staged in Riyadh from 7 to 14 November.
The prestigious tournament, which was first held in 1972, is staged on indoor hard courts at King Saud University Indoor Arena.
Rybakina is the reigning WTA Finals champion, having secured a record-breaking $5,235,000 for winning last year’s event.
If a current-year Grand Slam winner finishes between ninth and 20th in the Race, they will take the eighth and final qualification spot.
The players who finish ninth and 10th will travel to Saudi Arabia as alternates and have the chance to replace any players who withdraw.
Rybakina collected 2,000 ranking points for winning her second Grand Slam title at the 2026 Australian Open, where she defeated Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set final.
The Kazakh, who is ranked third, also earned 108 points for reaching the quarter-finals at the Brisbane International in her first event of the year.
World No 1 Sabalenka secured 1,300 points for her Australian Open runner-up result and 500 points for winning the Brisbane title.
Elina Svitolina is third in the Race with 1,030 points, having won the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland and reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open.
Jessica Pegula is fourth with 975 points after she was a semi-finalist at both Brisbane and the Australian Open.
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Mirra Andreeva sits in the No 5 position on 848 points having won the WTA 500 in Adelaide before exiting the Australian Open in the last 16.
Victoria Mboko is just a single point behind Andreeva in sixth place after losing to the Russian in the Adelaide final and reaching the fourth round at the Melbourne major, while she also earned points for a win at the United Cup.
Iva Jovic has collected 691 points and sits seventh after reaching the semi-finals in Auckland, the final in Hobart and the quarter-finals at the Australian Open.
Belinda Bencic is in the eighth and final qualification spot on 625 points after winning all five of her matches at the United Cup and falling in the Australian Open second round.
Live WTA Race to Riyadh (as of 4 February)
1) Elena Rybakina – 2,108
2) Aryna Sabalenka – 1,800
3) Elina Svitolina – 1,030
4) Jessica Pegula – 975
5) Mirra Andreeva – 848
6) Victoria Mboko – 847
7) Iva Jovic – 691
8) Belinda Bencic – 625
Cutoff
=9) Iga Swiatek – 580
=9) Coco Gauff – 580
11) Amanda Anisimova – 490
12) Wang Xinyu – 463
13) Madison Keys – 456
14) Karolina Muchova – 435
15) Yulia Putintseva – 424
Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff are tied in ninth position with 580 points, while Amanda Anisimova is in 11th on 490 points.
Wang Xinyu, Madison Keys, Karolina Muchova and Yulia Putintseva occupy 12 to 15th respectively.
