Elena Rybakina is through to the Canadian Open semi-finals after defeating Marta Kostyuk.
The former Wimbledon champion has had a mixed run of results coming into the tournament, after losing in the third round of Wimbledon and reaching the semi-finals of the Washington Open; losing to eventual champion Leylah Fernandez.
However, in Montreal she has shown flashes of her best self; dropping just one set on her way to the semi-final stage.
Rybakina will hope to continue her good form against 18-year-old star Victoria Mboko, who upset Coco Gauff in the round of 16.
With victory over Kostyuk in the Canadian Open quarter-finals, the Kazakh star entered new WTA Tour territory.
Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty ImagesElena Rybakina joins an exclusive list with Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff
Elena Rybakina was leading Marta Kostyuk 6-1 2-1 when the Ukrainian player was forced to retire through injury. This result has seen Rybakina reach the semi-finals of her last two tournaments after her appearance at the Washington Open.
As per OptaAce, Elena Rybakina has become the fifth player since 2019, when she debuted in WTA-1000 events, to reach 10 or more WTA-1000 semi-finals.
The other WTA players to achieve this feat in the same timeframe are Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff.
Surprisingly, none of these players feature in the Canadian Open semi-finals. Gauff was beaten by Canadian star Victoria Mboko, Swiatek lost to Clara Tauson, defending champion Pegula was stunned by Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova and Sabalenka did not compete at the tournament.
These results have presented a huge opportunity to Elena Rybakina.
While her rivals have stumbled, she has stood tall. The Kazakh star did not compete at the 2024 Canadian Open, meaning she has no points to defend this year.
After slipping to world number 12 following her career high of world number four, Rybakina could begin her ascent back up the rankings with victory in Canada.
Elena Rybakina moves into the final WTA Finals qualifying spot
Elena Rybakina has already achieved 390 WTA points as a result of reaching the Canadian Open semi-finals.
By doing so, she has overtaken the Italian Open champion Jasmine Paolini in the race to the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Photo by Jason Heidrich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The event, running from November 1 to 8, features the eight WTA players who achieved the most WTA points within a calendar year.
If Rybakina wins the Canadian Open, she will catapult herself to sixth in that race, overtaking Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova.