Chris Evert Reacts as New World No. 1 Elena Rybakina Joins Sabalenka & Swiatek Among Winners of Trophy Named After Her

Elena Rybakina has reached the pinnacle of women's tennis after bagging the World No. 1 ranking and the US Open trophy. Tennis legend Chris Evert was delighted to celebrate Rybakina's win and sent a heartfelt one-liner after seeing her hoist the 'Chris Evert WTA World No.1 Trophy.'

Rybakina has become the first player from Kazakhstan and the 30th woman in WTA history to reach the No. 1 ranking. Rybakina ended Aryna Sabalenka's 99-week reign at the top when she defeated China's Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the US Open quarterfinals. Ultimately, she also beat Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the final to claim her third Grand Slam title and her first US Open title.

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Alongside the US Open trophy, Rybakina was also awarded the WTA World No. 1 trophy, named after 18-time Grand Slam champion Evert. The American reacted to a picture of Elena Rybakina posing with the trophy alongside other No.1s like Iga Swiatek & Aryna Sabalenka on X, writing:

"Love, love, love the trophy, thank you, Wta❤️."

In October 2018, the WTA introduced a new World No. 1 trophy dedicated to Evert, as she became the first-ever WTA No. 1 on November 3, 1975. During the same year, Evert made 17 finals and took home 15 titles, and since 1975, held on to the top ranking for a total of 260 weeks.

Romania's Simona Halep became the first WTA World No. 1 to hoist the newly introduced trophy in 2018 after claiming her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

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Elena Rybakina Reflects on Bagging the World No.1 Trophy Named After Chris Evert

2026 has been Rybakina's year, as she began the season with a spectacular win over Sabalenka to clinch her first Australian Open title and her second Grand Slam title.

In March, Rybakina reached the World No. 2 ranking. Her quest to become World No. 1 got even closer at the Canadian Open, where she earned 240 points in the rankings despite losing to Iga Swiatek in the final. Despite a failed run at the Cincinnati Open, Rybakina entered the US Open trailing Sabalenka by 434 points and finally closed the gap last week.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Rybakina said:

"I was relieved to get to No. 1, but I knew there were two more matches to push, and it would be such a milestone to win the tournament here, so I was focused and trying not to see too many messages. I'm super happy and very proud; everything was working today."

Rybakina now leads Sabalenka by 2,026 points in the rankings.

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