Elena Rybakina has clinched the final spot for subsequent month’s WTA Finals by beating Victoria Mboko to succeed in the Pan Pacific Open semi-finals.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion, who has received two WTA 500 titles this yr, beat 19-year-old Mboko 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to seal her place within the end-of-season occasion.
The WTA Finals, which options the highest eight singles gamers and doubles groups of the yr, begins on 1 November in Saudi Arabia.
Kazakhstan’s Rybakina wanted to succeed in a minimum of the semi-finals in Tokyo to go Russian 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva within the race for the eighth and ultimate spot.
Her victory over Mboko means she’s going to be part of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula and Jasmine Paolini in Riyadh.
