WTA’s Top-Ranked Elena Rybakina Withdraws from Quarterfinals in Japan, Citing an Injury

Pan Pacific Open - Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan - October 30, 2026 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina signs autographs after retiring from her quarterfinal match against Canada's Leylah Fernandez and giving a walkover due to injury. (Reuters)

07:32-30 October 2026 AD ـ 19 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Elena Rybakina, the world's No. 1-ranked player and top seed in the Pan Pacific Open, withdrew from her quarterfinal match on Friday, handing the win to Leylah Fernandez of Canada.

Rybakina said she could not play because of an undisclosed injury. She stood on the tennis court in Tokyo and delivered the news to fans and ended by saying “I hope to see you all next year.”

She said she had been struggling for several day “with a little injury” and needs to be ready for next month's WTA finals in Indian Wells, California.

Rybakina guaranteed herself being ranked No. 1 at the end of the year with Thursday's victory over Yulia Putintseva.

In other quarterfinals on Friday at the Tokyo tournament, Kamilla Rakhimova defeated Maya Joint 7-5, 5-7. 6-1, and Mia Pohankova beat Alycia Parks 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Pohankova of Slovakia just turned 18 last week and was a wild-card entry in the tournament.

In a late quarterfinal, No. 3-seeded Diana Shnaider faced No. 8 Alex Eala.

In the semifinals, Rakhimova faces Fernandez and Pohankova goes against either Eala or Shnaider.

CAF Reverses Decision, Keeps AFCON Biennial

Senegal v Egypt - Olembe Stadium, Yaounde, Cameroon - February 6, 2022 General view of the Africa Cup of Nations trophy on display before the final match. (Reuters)

08:11-30 October 2026 AD ـ 19 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

CAF Reverses Decision, Keeps AFCON Biennial

Senegal v Egypt - Olembe Stadium, Yaounde, Cameroon - February 6, 2022 General view of the Africa Cup of Nations trophy on display before the final match. (Reuters)

The Africa ‌Cup of Nations will be held every two years, not four as was planned, governing body the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Thursday after reversing an earlier decision.

AFCON has traditionally been staged every two years, but CAF's surprise decision last December to move to a four-year cycle was not widely welcomed.

"The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Committee today ‌unanimously decided that ‌the CAF Africa Cup of ‌Nations ⁠will return to ⁠taking place every Two Years," CAF said in a statement.

Under the previous plan, AFCON would have moved to a four-year cycle, with the proposed CAF Nations League becoming the continent's biennial competition.

CAF President Patrice Motsepe ⁠said at a strategy conference in ‌Cape Verde earlier ‌this month that the organization was considering returning AFCON ‌to a two-year cycle.

CAF said the ‌Nations League would take years to generate enough revenue to sustain African football.

"The decision by the CAF Executive Committee to reinstate the organization of the ‌AFCON every two years aims to advance, protect and promote the interests ⁠of ⁠African football and the 54 CAF Member Associations, as well as those of African players playing for clubs outside the continent," Motsepe said in a statement.

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will co-host the next edition in 2027, with subsequent tournaments to be held in 2028, 2031 and 2033.

There will be no AFCON in 2030, with CAF maintaining its tradition of not staging the tournament in a World Cup year.

Sports

Djokovic Faces ATP Finals Battle After Loss in Basel

Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts during his round of 16 match against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff at the Swiss Indoors Basel tennis tournament, in Basel, Switzerland, 29 October 2026. (EPA)

07:59-30 October 2026 AD ـ 19 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Djokovic Faces ATP Finals Battle After Loss in Basel

Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts during his round of 16 match against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff at the Swiss Indoors Basel tennis tournament, in Basel, Switzerland, 29 October 2026. (EPA)

Novak Djokovic missed a big chance to strengthen ‌his push for a place at the end-of-year ATP Finals after a loss to Jan-Lennard Struff at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, leaving the Serb with precious few opportunities to make up ground in the race to Turin.

Back in Basel for the first time in 15 years, the 39-year-old Djokovic fell 6-7(4) 7-5 7-6(5) in the second round on Thursday, his first defeat by German veteran Struff in nine meetings.

"I knew I needed to go for it. There was only one way to play it. So I was very happy," said Struff, who clinched the win with his 27th ace of the match.

"The last serve went into the corner like many balls ‌today. I ‌knew I had to play my best tennis to have ‌a ⁠chance. The last ⁠eight times, he beat me very easily. So I'm very pleased with the performance."

The result left Djokovic 11th in the qualification race for the eight-player season finale, 319 points behind ninth-placed Rafael Jodar, who currently occupies the final qualifying spot with the injured Jannik Sinner not playing in Turin.

Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton all have places in the ATP Finals starting on November 15, leaving Djokovic battling for ⁠one of the remaining spots with next week's Paris Masters ‌offering him another opportunity to pick up points.

PARIS ‌PUSH

Djokovic will head to the November 2-8 Paris Masters as a record seven-times champion, but ‌has not said whether he would consider entering the ATP 250 event in ‌Stockholm afterwards if he still needs points to secure a finals' place.

He missed the previous two editions of the ATP Finals due to injury but had indicated that he intended to return to the event he has won a record seven times if he qualifies.

The ‌24-times Grand Slam champion has endured another tough season physically, though his run to the Australian Open final, a Wimbledon ⁠semi-final and his ⁠Beijing triumph have provided notable highs.

Few will write off Djokovic's chances of reaching Turin even at this stage, given the resilience that he has shown throughout his glittering career.

"I won the title in Beijing a few weeks ago, which was definitely my best week this year apart from the Grand Slam final in Australia," Djokovic told reporters before the tournament in Basel.

"It's been a year with a lot of struggles, particularly physically, but I'm still here and as competitive as anybody. If somebody beats me, well done, good job, but I'm definitely going to fight and not give these youngsters too easy a stroll on court. They have to earn their victories.

"That's also what motivates me: seeing how I can match up with players 15-plus years younger than me. It's been quite an interesting process to experience."