Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina has moved to the top of the WTA live rankings as the 2026 US Open begins, putting her in contention to become the world's official No. 1 for the first time.
Elena Rybakina has moved to the top of the WTA live rankings with 7,911 points as the 2026 US Open gets underway. Her main rival, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, has dropped to second place with 6,585 points, while American Jessica Pegula is third with 6,555 points.
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The live rankings show how the WTA standings would look if they were updated at that moment. They change throughout a tournament as players gain new ranking points and lose points from previous events.
According to the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation, points from the 2025 tournament were removed from the players' totals ahead of this year's US Open. Sabalenka, who was the defending champion, lost 2,000 points, while Rybakina had significantly fewer points to defend.
"This allowed the Kazakh player to move into first place in the live rankings before the end of this year's tournament," the federation said, stressing that her current position is an interim result and could change as the US Open progresses.
Unlike the live rankings, the official WTA rankings are updated on a set schedule. On the WTA website, Rybakina is currently ranked second with 8,141 points, behind Sabalenka, who has 8,575.
Rybakina entered the US Open as the world No. 2 and is among the main contenders for the title.
According to Kazakhstani tennis expert and coach Artyom Ostapenko, Rybakina has a strong chance of becoming world No. 1 at this year's US Open.
"The first scenario, which does not depend on any other results, is for her to reach the semi-finals. In that case, she will become world No. 1 regardless of how the other players perform. If she does not reach the semi-finals, she could still become No. 1 if none of three other players wins the US Open: Aryna Sabalenka and Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula," Ostapenko said.
Rybakina's fitness will also be closely watched during the tournament. Shortly before the US Open, she suffered an ankle injury during her quarter-final against Iga Swiatek at the Cincinnati Open and was forced to retire in the first set.
Despite the setback, Rybakina arrives in New York after a strong North American hard-court swing. She reached the final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto before making the quarter-finals in Cincinnati.
The US Open women's singles final is scheduled for 12 September at 4:00 pm local time in New York.