Why does Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic get to play Tour finals but not Elena Rybakina?

Women's singles Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina will not get the opportunity to compete at the WTA Finals, which will be played at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, the United States from October 31 to November 7, 2022. However, men's singles Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic will play in the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be played at Pala Alpitour in Turin from November 13. Rybakina will not get the same opportunity as the Serb as she is currently ranked No. 26 in the WTA rankings.

Djokovic, currently ranked No. 7 in the rankings, qualified for the ATP Finals by virtue of winning the Wimbledon title and being in the top-20. However, the same rules are not applicable to qualify for WTA Finals.

To qualify for the ATP Finals, a player who finishes the season ranked in the top 7 automatically qualifies. The eighth spot is reserved for a player who won a Grand Slam event in the current year and is ranked between 8th–20th.

Meanwhile, the top 7 singles players and top 8 doubles pair in the WTA rankings at the conclusion of the year, seal their berth for the finals. The eighth spot in singles is not guaranteed a place in the finals as the WTA has different rules.

The WTA calculates the points total of singles players on the basis of their performance in 16 tournaments. Points gained from four Grand Slams this year and four WTA 1000 events (with 1000 points for the winner) are considered by the WTA.

Furthermore, the best results from two WTA 1000 tournaments with 900 maximum points for the winner are taken into account by the WTA and points from the other six countable tournaments are also considered for qualification of single players.

For doubles, point totals are calculated by any combination of eleven tournaments throughout the year, not abiding by the mandatory Grand Slam or Premier-level tournaments rule like for singles.

Elena Rybakina is in semifinals of ongoing Ostrava Open

Elena Rybakina at the 2022 US Open. Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Elena Rybakina has made it to the semifinals of the ongoing Ostrava Open. The 23-year-old-bested Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals 7-6(5), 6-4 to make her way into the last four of the tournament.

The Kazakhstan player admitted that it was a very tough match for her as Kvitova played really well.

"It was a really tough match," Rybakina said after her win as quoted by WTA Tennis. "Petra, she played really well, so it was a battle for every point. But in the end, I’m very happy with my performance today."

The Wimbledon champion felt she served really well in the crucial moments of the match. Rybakina was able to get 84% of first serve in and fired a total of 11 aces in the match.

"I think I served really well today, and it helped me, especially in some tight moments," Rybakina said. "Overall, it was a solid match for me."

Elena Rybakina will take on 2021 French Open winner Barbora Krejčíková in the semifinals of the Ostrava Open.