Elena Rybakina secured the year-end women's singles number one ranking by beating Yulia Putintseva in the last 16 of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

The 6-2 6-3 victory for Rybakina means she cannot be overtaken in the closing weeks of a stellar year in which she has won the Australian Open and US Open titles.

Rybakina triumphed at the Ningbo Open last week to win her fourth title of 2026 and, after a first-round bye in Tokyo, served six aces and produced 25 winners in beating Putintseva.

She will play former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, who she beat 6-2 6-2 in the Ningbo Open final, in the Tokyo quarter-finals.

About the year-end ranking, Rybakina said: "It means a lot. This is something we worked for with the team.

"So many great players and we are all really close to each other, and I'm happy that now with last week and with today's win I made it possible to secure number one at the end of the year.

"It's an amazing achievement and hopefully we can continue this way next year."

The 27-year-old, who like Putintseva represents Kazakhstan, beat Sabalenka in the finals of the Slams in Melbourne and New York this year and usurped the Belarusian to become world number one in September.

A quarter-final victory over China's Zheng Qinwen at the US Open made sure she would move to the top of the singles rankings for the first time.

Rybakina's next tournament will be the defence of her singles title at the season-ending WTA Finals, which take place from 8-15 November in Indian Wells.