Ex-WTA Pro Explains How Elena Rybakina Took Advantage of Opponents’ Weaknesses to Win WTA Finals

Elena Rybakina ended the season with three titles, including her career's first Grand Slam title.

Ex-WTA Pro Explains How Elena Rybakina Took Advantage of Opponents’ Weaknesses to Win WTA Finals

Elena Rybakina (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

Former player, Alexandra Stevenson, thinks the majority of the WTA players, including Coco Gauff, can’t serve well, and for the same reason, she called them out during a recent interview. During the US Open this year, Gauff broke down in tears due to serving struggles, and to improve her technique, she added biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan to her team.

According to the former World No.18, Elena Rybakina, who is considered one of the best servers at present, took advantage of the weaknesses of her opponents to emerge triumphant at the WTA Finals.

En route to the title, the Kazakh ace registered wins over Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys, and Ekaterina Alexandrova in the round-robin stage before she knocked out 2024 US Open finalist Jessica Pegula in the semifinals. In the final, the 26-year-old secured a straight-set win over World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Everybody’s serve could get better on the women’s side, that’s why Rybakina came out of nowhere and won the year-end (WTA) Finals against the top eight, right, basically her serve. It’s a fundamental thing that I’ve found in coaching: the serve gets neglected on the women’s side, and that really bothers me, because it should be the number one thing worked on. As you see the men, the men don’t have meltdowns.

Alexandra Stevenson said on an episode of the Inside-In Tennis Podcast

The 2022 Wimbledon took home the $5,235,000 as prize money as she remained undefeated in the round-robin stage. For Rybakina, it was her third title of the season. Prior to winning her first trophy in the year-end championships, Rybakina defeated Liudmila Samsonova at the Strasbourg Open and Alexandrova at the Ningbo Open.

Steve Flink thinks Elena Rybakina should have won more Grand Slam titles

Elena Rybakina has so far reached just one Grand Slam final. At the 2022 Wimbledon, she went past Ons Jabeur. But Tennis Hall of Famer Steve Flink thinks Rybakina should have won more Grand Slam titles.

Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina (Image via X/US Open Tennis)

I hope that there’s tranquillity instead of turmoil, tranquillity replaces it, and she’s able to play her best, because when she’s in a calm state like she was at Wimbledon ’22, she’s more than capable of winning majors…she should have two or three more in her collection right now. Maybe, just maybe, next year is her time, and I hope she builds on what we saw at the end of this year.

Steve Flink said on Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis YouTube channel

Rybakina was not at her best earlier this year. Apart from the on-court loss in form, Rybakina was dealing with controversy due to her coach Stefano Vukov. The Croatian coach was banned by the WTA after being accused of harassing Rybakina. The ban was later overturned after his appeal. During the Vukov saga, Rybakina had hired Novak Djokovic‘s former coach, Goran Ivanisevic, but the latter left her team because of the controversy.

In the Grand Slam events this year, Rybakina failed to progress beyond the fourth round. She reached the last 16 of the Australian Open, where eventual champion Madison Keys knocked her out. In the French Open fourth round, she suffered defeats at the hands of four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek.

At Wimbledon, Clara Tauson beat her in the third round, while at the US Open, Marketa Vondrousova eliminated her in the round of 16. Rybakina finished the season in the fifth spot on the rankings table with a 59-19 win-loss record.

The WTA Finals was Rybakina’s first Big Title since her 2023 Italian Open win. Before this year, Rybakina had never progressed beyond the round-robin stage of the year-end championships.

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