Elena Rybakina’s victory at the Stuttgart Open continued her tremendous start to the 2026 season.
Rybakina defeated Karolina Muchova in Stuttgart to win her second WTA Tour title of the year, following her triumph at the Australian Open.
The world number two closed the gap on Aryna Sabalenka to just 1405 ranking points ahead of the Madrid Open.
However, Rybakina said she had a different focus rather than usurping Sabalenka to become the new world number one.
Elena Rybakina opens up on the race for world number one
Rybakina secured another 500 ranking points for winning the Stuttgart Open and the gap between world number one and two has not been closer for a very long time.
Sabalenka not playing a tournament since the Miami Open has opened a gap and Rybakina has surely taken it.
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Despite closing the gap on Sabalenka, Rybakina played down her chances of becoming the new world number one.
Speaking at her Stuttgart Open press conference, she said: “Well, I’m not really focusing on the points. I know my team is checking sometimes, but that’s not the goal.
“The most important for us, to be consistent and do well, because you can’t control how other players are gonna play. You just need to do your job as best as possible.
“I think for now everything was working well, and we just try to continue now for the big tournaments ahead, and hopefully I can get all the positives from this week to the next tournaments.”
Rybakina has played Sabalenka three times so far this season, picking up one victory and two defeats in their matches at the Miami Open, Indian Wells, and the Australian Open.
Who Elena Rybakina will play at the Madrid Open
Rybakina has been drawn in the bottom half of the draw at the Madrid Open and she has received a second round bye thanks to her seeding.
The world number two will await the first round winner of Antonia Ruzic and Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the second round.
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Rybakina has also been drawn in the same section as fellow seeds Madison Keys, Qinwen Zheng, and Jelena Ostapenko.
The star will not have to play a top 10 player until at least the quarter-finals of the Spanish Masters tournament.
Rybakina’s best effort previously at the Madrid Open came in 2024, when she reached the semi-finals of the event.
The star only reached the third round last season, so she has another big opportunity to claim ranking points.
