Zhibek Kulambayeva

Zhibek Kulambayeva
Жібек Құламбаева
Country (sports)	Kazakhstan
Born	26 March 2000; Almaty, Kazakhstan
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Plays	Right (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$223,284
Singles
Career record	269–209
Career titles	7 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 292 (21 July 2025)
Current ranking	No. 464 (10 August 2026)
Doubles
Career record	338–140
Career titles	1 WTA 125, 40 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 102 (10 August 2026)
Current ranking	No. 102 (10 August 2026)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	3–1
	Last updated on: 18 August 2026.

Zhibek Kulambayeva^[a] (born 26 March 2000) is a Kazakh tennis player. She achieved career-high WTA rankings of 292 in singles and No. 102 in doubles.

In September 2025, partnering with Veronika Erjavec, she has won her biggest title at the WTA 125 Huzhou Open in China.

Career overview

Kulambayeva made her debut for the Kazakhstan Fed Cup team in 2018.

In 2021, she became the person with the most trophies in the ITF Women's Circuit with one singles and nine doubles titles, a total of 10 titles.^[2] Kulambayeva made her WTA Tour main-draw debut as a wildcard entrant at the 2021 Astana Open, losing to eventual champion Alison Van Uytvanck in the first round.^[3]

In 2023, Kulambayeva competed with the Kazakhstani team in the United Cup^[4] and in the Billie Jean King Cup.

WTA Tour finals

Doubles: 1 (runner-up)

Legend
WTA 250 (0–1)

Finals by surface
Clay (0–1)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Jul 2026	Iași Open, Romania	WTA 250	Clay	Alina Charaeva	Anastasia Dețiuc Irina Khromacheva	6–4, 2–6, [5–10]

WTA 125 finals

Doubles: 1 (title)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Sep 2025	Huzhou Open, China	Clay	Veronika Erjavec	Momoko Kobori Ayano Shimizu	6–4, 6–2

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 12 (7 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Legend
W25/35 tournaments (0–2)
W15 tournaments (7–3)

Finals by surface
Clay (7–5)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Sep 2018	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W15	Clay	Daria Lodikova	6–7⁽⁵⁾, 4–6
Finalist^[b]	–NP-	Jan 2019	ITF Antalya, Turkey	W15	Clay	İpek Öz	2–0* canc.
Win	1–1	Sep 2019	ITF Anning, China	W15	Clay	Oleksandra Oliynykova	6–3, 7–5
Loss	1–2	Apr 2021	ITF Cairo, Egypt	W15	Clay	Elina Avanesyan	6–3, 4–6, 4–6
Win	2–2	May 2021	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W15	Clay	Kristina Dmitruk	7–5, 6–0
Loss	2–3	Apr 2022	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W15	Clay	Tatiana Prozorova	2–6, 4–6
Loss	2–4	Sep 2022	ITF Almaty, Kazakhstan	W25	Clay	Ekaterina Maklakova	4–6, 6–1, 4–6
Win	3–4	Mar 2023	ITF Antalya, Turkey	W15	Clay	Denisa Hindová	6–1, 6–3
Win	4–4	May 2023	ITF Kuršumlijska Banja, Serbia	W15	Clay	Eleni Christofi	6–3, 6–1
Win	5–4	Jul 2024	ITF Kuršumlijska Banja, Serbia	W15	Clay	Lisa Zaar	2–6, 6–4, 6–2
Loss	5–5	Sep 2024	ITF Punta Cana, Dominican Republic	W35	Clay	Karina Miller	5–7, 7–5, 1–6
Win	6–5	Jun 2025	ITF Kuršumlijska Banja, Serbia	W15	Clay	Draginja Vuković	6–4, 7–6⁽⁵⁾
Win	7–5	Mar 2026	ITF Nagpur, India	W15	Clay	Sonal Patil	6–1, 6–3

Doubles: 60 (40 titles, 20 runner-ups)

Legend
W100 tournaments (3–0)
W60/75 tournaments (3–4)
W40/50 tournaments (6–4)
W25/35 tournaments (11–5)
W10/15 tournaments (17–7)

Finals by surface
Hard (8–3)
Clay (32–17)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Sep 2016	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W10	Clay	Anna Iakovleva	Yanina Darishina Daria Lodikova	3–6, 3–6
Loss	0–2	Oct 2016	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W10	Clay	Anna Ukolova	Ulyana Ayzatulina Margarita Lazareva	2–6, 3–6
Loss	0–3	Sep 2017	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W15	Clay	Dariya Detkovskaya	Ksenia Palkina Mariana Dražić	5–7, 6–3, [8–10]
Loss	0–4	Sep 2017	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W15	Clay	Dariya Detkovskaya	Ksenia Palkina Mariana Dražić	5–7, 2–6
Win	1–4	Apr 2018	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W15	Clay	Dariya Detkovskaya	Polina Bakhmutkina Daria Lodikova	7–5, 6–4
Loss	1–5	Apr 2019	ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	W15	Hard	Katarína Kužmová	Thasaporn Naklo Mananchaya Sawangkaew	3–6, 5–7
Loss	1–6	Apr 2019	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W15	Clay	Dariya Detkovskaya	Tamara Čurović Anastasia Zakharova	5–7, 2–6
Loss	1–7	May 2019	ITF Heraklion, Greece	W15	Clay	Vanda Lukács	Maya Tahan Draginja Vuković	w/o
Win	2–7	Sep 2019	ITF Anning, China	W15	Clay	Ma Yexin	Liu Siqi Sheng Yuqi	6–4, 6–3
Win	3–7	Jan 2020	ITF Antalya, Turkey	W15	Clay	Ma Yexin	Ksenia Laskutova Anna Ureke	6–4, 6–2
Win	4–7	Jan 2020	ITF Antalya, Turkey	W15	Clay	Ma Yexin	Ayaka Okuno Julyette Steur	6–4, 1–6, [10–4]
Win	5–7	Oct 2020	ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	W15	Hard	Gozal Ainitdinova	Yekaterina Dmitrichenko Kamila Kerimbayeva	6–1, 2–6, [12–10]
Win	6–7	Apr 2021	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W15	Clay	Gozal Ainitdinova	Viktoriia Dema Anna Ureke	6–2, 5–7, [10–7]
Win	7–7	Apr 2021	ITF Cairo, Egypt	W15	Clay	Nicole Fossa Huergo	Elina Avanesyan Oana Gavrilă	6–3, 6–2
Win	8–7	May 2021	ITF Cairo, Egypt	W15	Clay	Oana Gavrilă	Yasmin Ezzat Clervie Ngounoue	6–4, 6–0
Win	9–7	May 2021	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W15	Clay	Martyna Kubka	Ekaterina Reyngold Ekaterina Shalimova	7–6⁽³⁾, 5–7, [10–8]
Win	10–7	May 2021	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W15	Clay	Martyna Kubka	Ekaterina Reyngold Ekaterina Shalimova	6–4, 6–4
Win	11–7	Aug 2021	ITF Cairo, Egypt	W15	Clay	Anastasia Sukhotina	Mell Reasco Alica Rusová	6–0, 6–0
Win	12–7	Aug 2021	ITF Cairo, Egypt	W15	Clay	Sandra Samir	María Paulina Pérez Mell Reasco	7–5, 6–3
Win	13–7	Oct 2021	ITF Karaganda, Kazakhstan	W25	Hard (i)	Martyna Kubka	Tamara Čurović Elena Malõgina	7–5, 6–4
Win	14–7	Dec 2021	ITF Navi Mumbai, India	W25	Hard	Diāna Marcinkēviča	Anna Danilina Valeriya Strakhova	6–3, 4–6, [10–6]
Win	15–7	Apr 2022	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W15	Clay	Anastasia Sukhotina	Ekaterina Maklakova Ksenia Zaytseva	6–1, 6–4
Win	16–7	Apr 2022	ITF Shymkent, Kazakhstan	W15	Clay	Stéphanie Visscher	Zhanel Rustemova Aruzhan Sagandikova	7–6⁽⁴⁾, 6–1
Loss	16–8	Jun 2022	ITF Brescia, Italy	W60	Clay	Diāna Marcinkēviča	Nuria Brancaccio Lisa Pigato	4–6, 1–6
Win	17–8	Jun 2022	ITF Prokuplje, Serbia	W25	Clay	Prarthana Thombare	Leyre Romero Gormaz Tara Würth	w/o
Loss	17–9	Aug 2022	ITF Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan	W25	Hard	Ekaterina Kazionova	Ekaterina Maklakova Aleksandra Pospelova	6–7⁽⁵⁾, 1–6
Win	18–9	Sep 2022	ITF Almaty, Kazakhstan	W25	Clay	Ekaterina Yashina	Amina Anshba Sofya Lansere	7–6⁽⁴⁾, 5–7, [10–8]
Win	19–9	Sep 2022	ITF Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy	W25	Clay	Darja Semeņistaja	Lu Jiajing Anita Wagner	6–2, 6–2
Loss	19–10	Jan 2023	Pune Open, India	W40	Hard	Gozal Ainitdinova	Ankita Raina Prarthana Thombare	6–4, 5–7, [8–10]
Win	20–10	Apr 2023	ITF Antalya, Turkey	W15	Clay	Daria Lodikova	Jacqueline Cabaj Awad Martha Matoula	6–1, 6–4
Loss	20–11	Apr 2023	ITF Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy	W25	Clay	Sapfo Sakellaridi	Mariana Dražić Anastasia Gasanova	5–7, 4–6
Loss	20–12	May 2023	ITF Båstad, Sweden	W25	Clay	Martyna Kubka	Jenny Dürst Fanny Östlund	4–6, 7–6⁽³⁾, [7–10]
Win	21–12	May 2023	ITF Kursumlijska Banja, Serbia	W25	Clay	Martyna Kubka	Alexandra Azarko Victoria Borodulina	6–3, 6–3
Win	22–12	Jul 2023	Internazionale di Roma, Italy	W60	Clay	Yuliya Hatouka	María Paulina Pérez Yuliana Lizarazo	6–4, 6–4
Loss	22–13	Jul 2023	ITS Cup, Czech Republic	W60	Clay	Darja Semeņistaja	Magdaléna Smékalová Tereza Valentová	2–6, 2–6
Loss	22–14	Aug 2023	Kunming Open, China	W40	Clay	Lanlana Tararudee	Guo Hanyu Jiang Xinyu	2–6, 0–6
Win	23–14	Sep 2023	Prague Open, Czech Republic	W60	Clay	Martyna Kubka	Angelica Moratelli Camilla Rosatello	7–6⁽³⁾, 6–4
Win	24–14	Sep 2023	ITF Skopje, North Macedonia	W40	Clay	Justina Mikulskytė	Rina Saigo Yukina Saigo	6–3, 6–4
Win	25–14	Oct 2023	ITF Cherbourg, France	W25+H	Hard (i)	Martyna Kubka	Yasmine Mansouri Lara Salden	6–0, 6–3
Win	26–14	Nov 2023	ITF Monastir, Tunisia	W25	Hard	Gao Xinyu	Aliona Falei Polina Iatcenko	6–0, 2–6, [10–7]
Win	27–14	Jan 2024	ITF Nonthaburi, Thailand	W50	Hard	Sapfo Sakellaridi	Lanlana Tararudee Tsao Chia-yi	w/o
Win	28–14	Mar 2024	ITF Gurugram, India	W35	Hard	Ankita Raina	Jacqueline Cabaj Awad Justina Mikulskytė	6–4, 6–2
Win	29–14	Apr 2024	ITF Hammamet, Tunisia	W35	Clay	Jasmijn Gimbrère	Kaylah McPhee Ksenia Zaytseva	6–4, 7–5
Win	30–14	Aug 2024	ITF Bytom, Poland	W50	Clay	Nicole Fossa Huergo	Maryna Kolb Nadiia Kolb	7–6⁽⁶⁾, 6–2
Loss	30–15	Sep 2024	ITF Punta Cana, Dominican Republic	W35	Clay	Sahaja Yamalapalli	Ariana Arseneault Kayla Cross	1–6, 7–5, [8–10]
Win	31–15	Sep 2024	ITF San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina	W50	Clay	Nicole Fossa Huergo	María Paulina Pérez Aurora Zantedeschi	6–3, 4–6, [10–7]
Loss	31–16	Sep 2024	ITF Pilar, Argentina	W50	Clay	Nicole Fossa Huergo	Carolina Alves Julia Riera	4–6, 5–7
Win	32–16	Sep 2024	Internacional de São Paulo, Brazil	W75	Clay	Nicole Fossa Huergo	Eleni Christofi Aurora Zantedeschi	3–6, 6–2, [10–4]
Win	33–16	Nov 2024	ITF Lousada, Portugal	W35	Hard (i)	Yuliya Hatouka	Polina Iatcenko Hanne Vandewinkel	6–3, 1–6, [10–4]
Loss	33–17	Feb 2025	ITF Antalya, Turkey	W35	Clay	Nicole Fossa Huergo	Li Yu-yun Li Zongyu	2–6, 6–2, [6–10]
Win	34–17	Apr 2025	Open Villa de Madrid, Spain	W100	Clay	Nicole Fossa Huergo	Marina Bassols Ribera Andrea Lázaro García	7–6⁽⁷⁾, 6–7⁽⁴⁾, [10–7]
Win	35–17	Apr 2025	Wiesbaden Open, Germany	W100	Clay	Darja Semeņistaja	Jesika Malečková Miriam Škoch	4–6, 6–3, [11–9]
Loss	35–18	May 2025	ITF Kuršumlijska Banja, Serbia	W75	Clay	Freya Christie	Ayla Aksu Anna Sisková	4–6, 2–6
Win	36–18	Mar 2026	ITF Nagpur, India	W15	Clay	Ekaterina Yashina	Ksenia Laskutova Elina Nepliy	5–7, 6–4, [10–6]
Win	37–18	Mar 2026	ITF Ch. Sambhaji Nagar, India	W15	Clay	Ekaterina Yashina	Anastasia Kuparev Sevil Yuldasheva	6–1, 6–4
Win	38–18	Apr 2026	ITF Batou, China	W50	Clay (i)	Ekaterina Reyngold	Diletta Cherubini Yuan Chengyiyi	6–1, 6–1
Loss	38–19	May 2026	ITF Kuršumlijska Banja, Serbia	W75	Clay	Lisa Zaar	Michaela Bayerlová Elena Milovanović	3–6, 4–6
Win	39–19	June 2026	ITF Haskovo, Bulgaria	W50	Clay	Valeriya Strakhova	Martha Matoula Hibah Shaikh	6–0, 6–4
Loss	39–20	June 2026	ITF Gdańsk, Poland	W50	Clay	Amarissa Tóth	Weronika Falkowska Georgina García Pérez	6–3, 5–7, [9–11]
Win	40–20	Jul 2026	ITF Gran Canaria, Spain	W100	Clay	Anna Sisková	Dominika Šalková Lisa Zaar	6–3, 7–6⁽³⁾

Notes

↑ Kazakh: Жібек Құламбаева, romanized: Jıbek Qūlambaeva; Russian: Жибек Куламбаева;^[1] Russian pronunciation: [ʐɨˈbɛk kʊɫɐmˈba(ɪ̯)ɪvə]
↑ The match was suspended at 2–0 and not finished because of rain.

References

↑ "Romanizer (from Kazakh and Russian)". baltoslav.eu. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
↑ "8000 players, 34000 matches: The 2021 ITF World Tennis Tour in numbers". www.itftennis.com. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
↑ "Welcome to the Tour: All of 2021's WTA debutantes". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
↑ "Kazakhstan United Cup Team". www.unitedcup.com. Archived from the original on 2024-12-28. Retrieved 2023-01-28.

External links

Zhibek Kulambayeva at the Women's Tennis Association
Zhibek Kulambayeva at World Tennis
Zhibek Kulambayeva at the Billie Jean King Cup (archived former page)
Zhibek Kulambayeva at ESPN.com
Zhibek Kulambayeva at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games (archive)

[2] Kazakh: Жібек Құламбаева, romanized: Jıbek Qūlambaeva; Russian: Жибек Куламбаева;^[1] Russian pronunciation: [ʐɨˈbɛk kʊɫɐmˈba(ɪ̯)ɪvə]

[6] The match was suspended at 2–0 and not finished because of rain.

[1] "Romanizer (from Kazakh and Russian)". baltoslav.eu. Retrieved 2 January 2022.

[3] "8000 players, 34000 matches: The 2021 ITF World Tennis Tour in numbers". www.itftennis.com. Retrieved 2024-10-29.

[4] "Welcome to the Tour: All of 2021's WTA debutantes". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 14 December 2024.

[5] "Kazakhstan United Cup Team". www.unitedcup.com. Archived from the original on 2024-12-28. Retrieved 2023-01-28.

[a]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[b]

[1]

Women's Tennis Association: Top ten female singles tennis players from Central Asia
as of 15 June 2026
1. Elena Rybakina (2 ) 2. Kamilla Rakhimova (78 11) 3. Yulia Putintseva (87 11) 4. Maria Timofeeva (93 25) 5. Polina Kudermetova (121 2)
6 Zarina Diyas (417 4) 7. Zhibek Kulambayeva (476 40) 8. Aruzhan Sagandykova (672 28) 9. Laima Vladson (762 1) 10. Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (902 135)

Women's Tennis Association: Top Kazakhstani female singles tennis players
as of 30 March 2026
1. Elena Rybakina (2 ) 2. Yulia Putintseva (72 3) 3. Zarina Diyas (306 16) 4. Zhibek Kulambayeva (422 3) 5. Aruzhan Sagandykova (769 8)
6. Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (1,019 ) 7. Asylzhan Arystanbekova (1,094 1) 8. Sandugash Kenzhibayeva (1,474 )

Women's Tennis Association: Top Kazakhstani female doubles tennis players
as of 1 December 2025
1. Anna Danilina (15 ) 2. Yulia Putintseva (108 ) 3. Zhibek Kulambayeva (135 4) 4. Elena Rybakina (271 2) 5. Galina Voskoboeva (544 5)
6. Sandugash Kenzhibayeva (665 46) 7. Aruzhan Sagandykova (707 11) 8. Asylzhan Arystanbekova (711 4) 9. Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (744 5) 10. Ingkar Dyussebay (747 4)