Rybakina is the second-oldest player to debut as world No. 1, behind only the German Angelique Kerber, who did so at 28 in 2016.
She is also the first representative from Kazakhstan - among both men and women - to lead the world singles rankings.
Aryna Sabalenka, on the other hand, will drop to second place after 99 consecutive weeks as the world number 1.
Known for her powerful serve, Rybakina established herself among tennis's elite after winning Wimbledon in 2022.
The Kazakh entered the top 10 the following year and, since then, her lowest ranking has been 13th, which she held for just one week in July 2025.
In 2026, she won the Australian Open and the WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart, as well as finishing runner-up at the WTA 1000 events in Toronto and Indian Wells. She has 47 wins and 13 losses this season.
The new world No. 1 has 13 singles titles in her career.
Rybakina will take to the court in her US Open semi-final against Coco Gauff, aiming to reach the final in New York for the first time in her career.
Every women's world No. 1
1) Chris Evert (USA) – November 3rd, 1975
2) Evonne Goolagong Cawley (Australia) – April 26th, 1976
3) Martina Navratilova (USA) – July 10th, 1978
4) Tracy Austin (USA) – April 7th, 1980
5) Steffi Graf (Germany) – August 17th, 1987
6) Monica Seles (Yugoslavia / USA) – March 11th, 1991
7) Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (Spain) – February 6th, 1995
8) Martina Hingis (Switzerland) – March 31st, 1997
9) Lindsay Davenport (USA) – October 12th, 1998
10) Jennifer Capriati (USA) – October 15th, 2001
11) Venus Williams (USA) – February 25th, 2002
12) Serena Williams (USA) – July 8th, 2002
13) Kim Clijsters (Belgium) – August 11th, 2003
14) Justine Henin (Belgium) – October 20th, 2003
15) Amélie Mauresmo (France) – September 13th, 2004
16) Maria Sharapova (Russia) – August 22nd, 2005
17) Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) – June 9th, 2008
18) Jelena Janković (Serbia) – August 11th, 2008
19) Dinara Safina (Russia) – April 20th, 2009
20) Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) – October 11th, 2010
21) Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) – January 30th, 2012
22) Angelique Kerber (Germany) – September 12th, 2016
23) Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) – July 17th, 2017
24) Garbine Muguruza (Spain) – September 11th, 2017
25) Simona Halep (Romania) – October 9th, 2017
26) Naomi Osaka (Japan) – January 28th, 2019
27) Ashleigh Barty (Australia) – June 24th, 2019
28) Iga Swiatek (Poland) – April 4, 2022
29) Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) – September 11th, 2023
30) Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) – September 14th, 2026
