Mirra Andreeva denied WTA Finals debut after 'visa' drama as Elena Rybakina swoops in

Teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva will not make her WTA Finals debut this year despite enjoying an impressive start to the season, which saw her win back-to-back WTA 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells. Andreeva and Elena Rybakina were locked in battle for the final spot at the season-ending championships.

Only the eight players who have earned the most ranking points in a single season make it into the WTA Finals in Riyadh. However, Andreeva was not able to control her fate this week. She was expected to take a late wildcard into the WTA 500 event in Tokyo to earn some extra points, but she reportedly could not get a visa to compete.

In her absence, Rybakina has sealed WTA Finals qualification in dramatic fashion, getting revenge over Victoria Mboko in Friday's Tokyo quarter-finals. This was the last possible week in which Rybakina could play for a place in the year-end tournament, and she got the job done.

Just a few weeks ago, it seemed that the 2022 Wimbledon champion would need to make a monumental effort to make it to Riyadh. But she accepted the challenge, reaching the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 event in Wuhan before lifting the Ningo Open trophy last week.

Once it emerged that Andreeva wouldn't be playing the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Rybakina had one final task on her hands - reach the semi-finals this week to secure her spot at the WTA Finals. And she did just that, avenging two tough losses in the process.

The world No. 7 suffered a bruising three-set defeat to Leylah Fernandez in the Washington semi-finals over the summer, and she was stunned by teenage star Victoria Mboko in the Canadian Open semi-finals a few days later.

But Rybakina dispatched Fernandez in her opening match in Tokyo this week, sealing a straightforward 6-4 6-3 victory. Then, in Friday's quarter-final, she defeated Mboko 6-3 7-6(4) to qualify for the WTA Finals.

"It was a very difficult match against Victoria. The last time, it was the same battle. I'm very happy that today I managed to win in two sets," the 26-year-old said.

"In the second set, we were going so close, both serving really well, so I'm glad that I could push a little bit more in the tiebreak and win in two sets."

The Kazakh star joins Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, and Jasmine Paolini in the star-studded field in Riyadh.

This is the third year in a row in which Rybakina has qualified for the WTA Finals. But it comes at the expense of Andreeva, who racked up an impressive 4,319 points this season.

The 18-year-old has suffered something of a dip in the latter part of the season, winning just five matches since Wimbledon. And she was unable to take a wildcard into the Toray Pan Pacific Open this week to try and stop Rybakina from overtaking her points haul.

WTA doubles star Ellen Perez recently took to social media to respond to a fan who questioned why Andreeva 'rescinded' her Tokyo wildcard. "She doesn't have the visa to play in Tokyo," Perez revealed.

Andreeva will now be the first alternate at the WTA Finals, while Ekaterina Alexandrova will be the second alternate.