TOKYO — Elena Rybakina clinched the final remaining spot for the WTA Finals by beating Victoria Mboko 6-3, 7-6 (4) within the Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals Friday.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion will face the Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova within the semifinals on the Tokyo event.
Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, moved forward of Mirra Andreeva to take the eighth spot for subsequent month’s profitable WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia.
“It is nice to qualify and play some extra matches, particularly towards high gamers,” Rybakina stated. “Final week, I used to be focusing one match at a time and I knew that to qualify it will take an extended highway.”
On the WTA Finals, scheduled Nov. 1-8, Rybakina will be part of top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, and Jasmine Paolini.
Gauff is the defending champion in Riyadh. The American beat Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in final yr’s last and acquired $4.8 million in prize cash.
