Pan Pacific Open Round-Up: Elena Rybakina only one win away from WTA Finals, defeats in-form Leylah Fernandez

Thursday, 23 October 2025 at 09:12

Elena Rybakina is on the verge of securing the eighth and final spot at the WTA FInals in Riyadh after defeating Leylah Fernandez at the Pan Pacific Open on Thursday.

Rybakina faced off with Fernandez who like her had won a title in the past week. Ningbo champion Rybakina defeated Osaka champion Leylah Fernandez - the latter had defeated Maria Sakkari in the round prior. But it was a 6-4, 6-3 success for Rybakina who is one win away from qualifying for the Year End Finals for the third consecutive year. A feat she can achieve at the Pan Pacific Open.

She will now have to defeat Victoria Mboko in order to do it. She picked up the one hour and 28 minute win against Fernandez to increase her winning streak to five, Fernandez had aced their last meeting back in July at the Washington Open winning 6-7(2), 7-6(3), 7-6(3).

Albeit this time she never trailed on the scoreboard and dropped serve just once to level her all-time record against Fernandez to 2-2 and inch closer to Andreeva in the race to the WTA Finals. Andreeva wanted to play this week and was seemingly set to accept a wildcard but visa issues halted her.

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Standing between Rybakina and that spot is a resurgent Victoria Mboko. The second Canadian in a row and a player who dealt Rybakina the blow of beating her in the semi-finals in a part of the tournament where the Kazakh was perhaps expected to take the match by the scruff of the neck.

Also it is a 50th match win of the year, only Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula have reached that. All three were among the first to set their spot in Riyadh and she will hope to be next.

"Today was a very difficult match -- it's always not easy against Leylah, and especially the first match for me here ... I'm pretty happy with the win and looking forward for my next match," Rybakina said afterwards.

"I'm feeling a little bit tired of course, but I'm ready to make a last push. I'm very happy with the last week, and I'm trying to bring everything from last week into here."

Elsewhere on Thursday, Belinda Bencic continues to have success with the Swiss ace seeing off Varvara Gracheva with ease 6-4, 6-3. While top 10 player Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated Jaqueline Cristian 6-1, 6-2 to also continue her recent heroics. Wakana Sonobe is the last player up today as she takes on Sofia Kenin and attempts to reach the Quarter-Finals.

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

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