Elena Rybakina became the third WTA player to qualify for the 2023 WTA Finals joining the world's top two players - Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek who have both secured places in the elite eight.
Rybakina will be the first Kazakhstani to play at the season-ending championships after a fine campaign yielded a runner-up finish in her second Grand Slam final at this year's Australian Open. She exceeded the cut-off points of 5,420 to move into third place in the WTA Race.
The 24-year-old played a further three finals at WTA 1000s and won in Indian Wells and Rome - becoming the first Kazakhstani player to win this prestigious category. Despite her unsuccessful title defense at Wimbledon, Rybakina made up for those points during the hard-court summer in North America.
Rybakina made the semifinal at the Canadian Open for the first time in the midst of hectic scheduling woes and attained a third-round finish at the US Open where she shockingly lost to Sorana Cirstea. Nonetheless, she's made massive improvements in her game and her ranking.
Rybakina has compiled an impressive 42-14 record for the season, translating to a winning record of 75% - which is a personal best and surpasses her numbers from 2022, and with at least two more months of playing time still to come.
Last year, she came very close to qualifying for the WTA Finals for the first time but missed out on the very last week of the regular season, where she squandered three match points in a second-round defeat to Jessica Pegula in Guadalajara.
But she's made sure of her spot this time, where fellow challengers Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have confirmed their places. Five more spots are up for grabs, with eighth-placed Ons Jabeur less than 1,000 points ahead of 13th-placed Daria Kasatkina.
The dates for the season-ending finale are yet to be determined as is the host country - with the Czech Republic and Saudi Arabia reportedly the only two countries who have tabled a bid so far.
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