Elena Rybakina set to achieve career-high ranking after impressive Indian Wells run

No matter how the rest of the Indian Wells tournament plays out, Elena Rybakina is set to climb to a new career-high in the rankings.

She’s currently third in the WTA standings, sitting behind Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.

But those rankings are about to shift after her latest win over Jessica Pegula at Indian Wells.

The Kazakhstan star beat Pegula 6-1, 7-6(7-4) in the quarterfinals, booking a semi-final match-up against Elina Svitolina.

Elena Rybakina is closing in on the world number two ranking

Rybakina goes into that semi-final already knowing that, regardless of the result, she will move up to world number two when the WTA rankings update after Indian Wells.

She will pass Swiatek, who lost to Svitolina in the quarterfinals at Tennis Paradise in California.

Rybakina has never been ranked higher than third before. World number two would mark a new career high for her.

Before any of that happens, though, there is a place in the Indian Wells final to play for. The winner between Aryna Sabalenka and Linda Noskova will be waiting for her if she gets through.

Indian Wells: WTA top 10 results so far

It’s been an interesting start to the WTA season, with Rybakina among the early standouts. She kicked off 2026 by winning the Australian Open title, beating Sabalenka in the final in Melbourne.

After a stretch that saw several players withdraw or retire from events like the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships, most of them were back in action for Indian Wells.

The entire WTA top 10 took on the tournament in California, of which only Sabalenka, Rybakina and Svitolina remain.

Noskova has also had a strong tournament. The world number 14 has taken down Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Sorana Cirstea, Alexandra Eala and Talia Gibson on her way to the last four.

The tournament hasn’t gone smoothly for everyone. Several top players will leave Indian Wells frustrated by their performances.

But there’s little time to dwell on results, as attention quickly turns to the Miami Open — the second half of the Sunshine Double. Every player inside the top 10 is already committed to playing what will be another key event during this opening stretch of the season.

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