Kazakhstani tennis player Elena Rybakina has become the world's No. 1. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
The athlete advanced to the semifinals of the US Open and secured the status of the world's top tennis player. World No. 2 Elena Rybakina defeated China's Zheng Qinwen 3:6, 6:1, 6:4 in the quarterfinals to earn a place in the semifinals.
As a result, Rybakina overtook Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA live rankings to become the new world No. 1.
The official ranking update will take place on Monday, September 14. Thus, Elena became the first representative of Kazakhstan to top the world rankings in singles.
Previously, no tennis player from Kazakhstan – neither women nor men – had ever held the No. 1 spot in the world rankings.