The key facts

  • Rybakina withdrew from the Tokyo quarterfinal against Leylah Fernandez due to a neck injury
  • The day before, she had secured the year-end No. 1 spot in the WTA rankings
  • Rybakina said she plans to play at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells

Withdrawal from the tournament after securing the No. 1 spot

World No. 1 Elena Rybakina withdrew from the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo due to a neck injury, the AFP news agency reported. The withdrawal came a day after the 27-year-old tennis player secured the top spot in the year-end WTA rankings. She was scheduled to face Canada's Leylah Fernandez in the quarterfinal, but instead of playing the match she came out onto the court to address the crowd and sign autographs.

The player's words and her WTA Finals plans

“I just wanted to say a huge thank you for coming today, but unfortunately I won't be able to play,” Rybakina said, adding that she had “been battling a minor injury for a couple of days” and that it was hard for her to take the court at one hundred percent, “since a very important tournament is coming up.” She said she would return at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells next month.

Context: a year with three Grand Slam titles

Rybakina secured the top spot in the year-end rankings with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Yulia Putintseva in her first match in Tokyo. She reached world No. 1 for the first time last month after winning the US Open, displacing Aryna Sabalenka from the top spot. This year she also won the Australian Open in January, and she now has three Grand Slam titles to her name. She arrived in Tokyo after winning the Ningbo Open in China, where she beat the same Fernandez in the final — her fourth title of the season.