The entry list for the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, which runs from 26 October to 1 November, has one name on it that none of its peers have: a WTA Finals qualifier. Rybakina is the lone exception.

Four other top-10 players have pulled out of the Tokyo field in the days before main-draw play. Jessica Pegula cited fatigue. Elina Svitolina pulled out on personal grounds. Iga Swiatek withdrew with a thigh injury and announced the end of her season, while Marta Kostyuk retired from her opening match in Ningbo with an injury that, per the same report, ended her chances of qualifying for the WTA Finals.

Of the four, only Pegula and Svitolina are headed to Indian Wells. Rybakina is the only one of the eight Finals qualifiers still playing before the year-end event.

A foot that has already forced two exits

Rybakina has been managing a persistent left foot problem for months. She retired from her Cincinnati Open quarter-final against Swiatek in August, and withdrew from the Wuhan Open earlier this month. She returned at the Ningbo Open, where she reached the quarter-finals after her second-round opponent Polina Kudermetova retired with Rybakina leading 5-0.

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“Definitely not the way I wanted to finish the match,” Rybakina said afterwards, per the match report.

Ningbo is a WTA 500. So is Tokyo. Playing both back-to-back is a heavy workload for a player who has already retired once and withdrawn once from the swing. The tennis365 feature framing the Tokyo decision as a potential mistake notes exactly that: match sharpness against physical cost.

Nothing to gain at the top of the table

Rybakina has already clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking position and the top seed at the WTA Finals, which run from 8 to 15 November at Indian Wells. Her lead over Aryna Sabalenka stands at 1,050 points, a buffer no result in Tokyo can meaningfully move.

The gap between the Tokyo final on 1 November and the WTA Finals opener on 8 November is seven days. If Rybakina goes deep in Tokyo, she will fly from Japan to the California desert with only a week to recover, change surfaces and adjust time zones.

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Excited for Tokyo, hoping to finish the year strong

In a video posted on her Instagram, Rybakina sounded unambiguous.

“Hello everyone, it’s Elena here. I’m really excited to be coming to Tokyo to play at the Toray Pan Pacific Open this year.”

Her stated goal for the season’s close is the same one she gave in Ningbo.

“I’m just happy being here in Ningbo again, remembering the previous memories, and hoping that I can finish the year strong and be at my best.”

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As of writing, Rybakina’s Ningbo quarter-final is next, with the Tokyo main draw starting on 26 October.

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