WTA Rankings Race To Riyadh: Rybakina retains lead, Pegula soars to 2nd, Gauff up to 8th, Swiatek -3
Jessica Pegula has made a big move in the Race to the WTA Finals in Riyadh following her Dubai Championships triumph, while Elena Rybakina remains clear at the top.
The eight women who earn the most ranking points in the 2026 season 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 played on indoor hard-court at the 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 take the place of any players who withdraw.
World No 3 Rybakina has been the leader of the Race since winning the 2026 Australian Open, and she retains a healthy advantage. The Kazakh has moved onto 2,443 points after she reached the third round in Dubai.
Pegula has surged into second place, with her title at the WTA 1000 in Dubai increasing her points total to 1,976.
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Elina Svitolina, who was a runner-up to Pegula in Dubai, has moved up one place to fourth in the Race with 1,800 points — level with Aryna Sabalenka, who has not played since the Australian Open.
Victoria Mboko and Karolina Muchova both pulled out of the Dubai Championships, and they have fallen to fifth and sixth in the Race.
Mirra Andreeva remains seventh with 1,183 points after she made the quarter-finals in Dubai, while Coco Gauff has jumped three places to the No 8 spot after she reached the semi-finals, which took her points total to 980.
Live WTA Race to Riyadh (as of 23 February)
1) Elena Rybakina – 2,443
2) Jessica Pegula – 1,976
3) Elina Svitolina – 1,800
4) Aryna Sabalenka – 1,800
5) Victoria Mboko – 1,497
6) Karolina Muchova – 1,435
7) Mirra Andreeva – 1,183
8) Coco Gauff – 980
Cutoff
9) Amanda Anisimova – 890
10) Iva Jovic – 812
11) Iga Swiatek – 795
12) Belinda Bencic – 744
13) Sara Bejlek – 630
14) Elisabetta Cocciaretto – 603
15) Sorana Cirstea – 579
Amanda Anisimova has made an eight-place climb to ninth after her semi-final run in Dubai took her points tally to 890. Iva Jovic made the last 16 in Dubai, but she has dropped from ninth to 10th.
Iga Swiatek did not compete in Dubai, and she has fallen three spots from eighth to 11th, while Belinda Bencic has dropped two places to 12th.
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