{"id":2104473,"date":"2026-08-21T09:32:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T06:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2104473"},"modified":"2026-08-21T09:32:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T06:32:19","slug":"how-elena-rybakinas-cincinnati-open-exit-affects-her-world-no-1-battle-with-aryna-sabalenka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2104473","title":{"rendered":"How Elena Rybakina&#8217;s Cincinnati Open exit affects her world No 1 battle with Aryna Sabalenka"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">How Elena Rybakina\u2019s Cincinnati Open exit affects her world No 1 battle with Aryna Sabalenka<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/ewan-west\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Ewan West                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"21 Aug 2026 10:32 AM\" data-ps-date=\"21 Aug 2026 10:32 AM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1787304739\"><br \/>\n                            21 Aug 2026 10:32 AM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                    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            <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"How Elena Rybakina\u2019s Cincinnati Open exit affects her world No 1 battle with Aryna Sabalenka\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Elena-Rybakina-Aryna-Sabalenka-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/elena-rybakina\">Elena Rybakina<\/a>\u2019s campaign at the 2026 Cincinnati Open ended at the quarter-final stage, but how has the Kazakh\u2019s exit impacted her world No 1 hopes?<\/p>\n<p>The two-time Grand Slam winner was forced to retire due to injury when trailing 1-4 in the first set of her quarter-final match against Iga Swiatek in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n<p>Rybakina has divulged that a left ankle issue has been bothering her for \u201ca long period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course, now I feel not the greatest, I couldn\u2019t even push from the serve,\u201d Rybakina said afterwards. \u201cIt\u2019s painful to walk, and we will know more tomorrow when I do the MRI.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been bothering me for a long period of time. It was under control, but then after playing a lot of matches in Canada and coming here playing two matches in a row.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>World No 2 Rybakina began the Cincinnati Open with 7,926 points in the Live <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/wta-tour\">WTA<\/a> Rankings, which put her 529 points adrift of top-ranked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/aryna-sabalenka\">Aryna Sabalenka<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>WTA Tour News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/elena-rybakina-injury-update-retiring-iga-swiatek-cincinnati-open\"><strong>Elena Rybakina gives injury update after retiring at Cincinnati Open as Iga Swiatek reacts<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/top-10-wta-stars-matches-played-2026-alex-eala-jessica-pegula-coco-gauff\"><strong>The top 10 WTA stars with the most matches played in 2026: Alex Eala No 1<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Depending on results at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati, it was possible for Rybakina to overtake Sabalenka and become world No 1 for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>Sabalenka suffered a surprise fourth round loss to Sara Bejlek in Cincinnati, which leaves her on 8,575 points in the Live WTA Rankings.<\/p>\n<p>This clarified the situation as it meant Rybakina would take top spot from Sabalenka if she reached the final in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n<p>Rybakina\u2019s quarter-final exit, however, means she will have 8,141 points when the WTA Rankings update \u2014 putting her 434 points behind the world No 1.<\/p>\n<p>The 26-year-old will remain as the world No 2, and she is currently 1,136 points clear of third-ranked Jessica Pegula \u2014 who is through to the semi-finals in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n<h2>Elena Rybakina could have another world No 1 chance at the US Open<\/h2>\n<p>If Rybakina is fit to compete at the 2026 US Open, which will begin next week, she will have another opportunity to become world No 1.<\/p>\n<p>Sabalenka will be defending the maximum 2,000 points at Flushing Meadows as the Belarusian is the defending champion.<\/p>\n<p>Rybakina, meanwhile, will be defending just 240 points as she lost in the fourth round at the New York major last year.<\/p>\n<p>She will, therefore, have a big chance of gaining points on Sabalenka with a deep run.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/us-open\/us-open-announce-prize-money-for-2026-is-the-largest-package-in-tennis-history\">US Open announce prize money for 2026 is the \u2018largest package in tennis history\u2019<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How Elena Rybakina\u2019s Cincinnati Open exit affects her world No 1 battle with Aryna Sabalenka Ewan West 21 Aug 2026 10:32 AM Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka Elena Rybakina\u2019s campaign at the 2026 Cincinnati Open ended at the quarter-final stage, but how has the Kazakh\u2019s exit impacted her world No 1 hopes? The two-time Grand [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-2104473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2104473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104473\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2104473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2104473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2104473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}