TOKYO: Elena Rybakina clinched the eighth and last spot at next month’s WTA Finals when she beat Victoria Mboko 6-3, 7-6(4) on Friday to reach the Pan Pacific semifinals in Tokyo. The former Wimbledon champion joins the elite field in Saudi Arabia after a successful run of form that also saw her win the Ningbo Open in China last week. Kazakhstan’s Rybakina, the number two seed in Tokyo, jumped out to an early lead against Canada’s Mboko and fought off her opponent’s attempts to recover in the second set. Rybakina will play sixth seed Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic in the Tokyo semifinals on Saturday.
Rybakina was locked in a straight battle for the last WTA Finals spot with Russia’s Mirra Andreeva.
Rybakina joins Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula and Jasmine Paolini at the November 1-8 season-ending tournament.
Paolini secured the seventh spot by reaching the semifinals last week in Ningbo. Agencies
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