Rybakina, solid against Fernandez in Tokyo, moves closer to WTA Finals

Elena Rybakina defeated Leylah Fernandez in her opening match in Tokyo.

As the second seed and world number 7, Rybakina made her debut at the WTA 500 in Tokyo in the round of 16. The 26-year-old player faced Leylah Fernandez, who had just won the Osaka tournament and eliminated Maria Sakkari in the first round (7-6, 6-4).

In this duel between two players who each won a title last week—Rybakina having triumphed in Ningbo—it was the latter who dominated the match. The contest was decided late in the first set and early in the second, when Rybakina secured decisive breaks.

After breaking the Canadian's serve in three consecutive games across two different sets, the current 9th-ranked player in the Race standings won in straight sets (6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour 26 minutes). She levels their head-to-head record at 2-2 with Fernandez and advances to the quarterfinals.

She will face Victoria Mboko for the third time this season, having previously won in Washington and lost in Montreal. A second victory against the young Canadian player will officially secure her qualification for the WTA Finals, since the other candidate for the Masters, Mirra Andreeva, is not present in the Japanese capital due to a visa issue.