Elena Rybakina Shares Whether She Wants to Take Revenge on Aryna Sabalenka Ahead of Miami Semis

Elena Rybakina will be meeting Aryna Sabalenka for the third time this season. In the ongoing Miami Open, they will be locking horns in the semifinals, scheduled to be held on Thursday (March 26).

Both players have reached the final in Miami, but Rybakina, the runner-up in 2023 (lost to Petra Kvitova) and 2024 (lost to Danielle Collins), has yet to taste victory. The World No.1 is competing as the defending champion. Last year, she defeated home favorite Jessica Pegula in the final.

It’s Pegula whom Rybakina knocked out in the quarterfinals of the ongoing event after overcoming a set deficit. Following the match, she sat for an interview with Tennis Channel during which she was asked whether she is thinking of taking revenge on Sabalenka.

Well, not necessary. I want to play, of course. Any top player straightaway, or like, not Aryna, of course. I would prefer maybe to play in the final if she wins. But honestly, for me it’s not really about the revenge. I had a lot of opportunities, and it was in the third set, kind of a roulette in Indian Wells.

Rybakina denied Sabalenka her first singles title in last year’s WTA Finals. She continued her winning ways and denied Sabalenka her third singles title at the Australian Open. But the Belarusian finally got her revenge in the Indian Wells final to improve her head-to-head record to 9-7.

And of course, I just know that we push each other and you can learn from these matches, but I want to come out from the match no matter the result. And being happy with what happened on the court or what worked, maybe some little improvements. It’s already, it’s already a plus, and hopefully we’ll play many more times.

Elena Rybakina added

Sabalenka is chasing her second title in the Sunshine Doubles. Rybakina also has one title to her name in the two WTA 1000 events (the 2023 Indian Wells, which she won by defeating Sabalenka).

Elena Rybakina blames her attitude during her clash with Jessica Pegula

Elena Rybakina argued with her coach Stefano Vukov during her 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Jessica Pegula. After easily losing the first set, Rybakina saved three break points in the second set and also one in the deciding set.

In the first set, before Pegula served for the set, Rybakina had an argument with her coach, Vukov, who told her this: “Elena, grind tennis. Grind. Full character. Fully grind. Come on, hit the ball“, but Rybakina’s response was, “You see it doesn’t work. What are you talking about?” Rybakina later admitted that attitude adjustments later helped her turn things around. She said at the press conference:

I didn’t start well at all and got frustrated with my mistakes. I started rushing and couldn’t control my attitude. In the second set, I needed to stop, take a breath, and change the dynamics. I’m happy I could turn it around. A couple of times, I got lucky. It was a very difficult shot, but I’m happy that somehow I’m staying at the net, and I feel here probably it helps even more to finish the rallies. Overall, the coaches are pushing me to come to the net more because whenever I come, most of the time you win the points.

Vukov also shouted “more energy” when Rybakina was losing the Australian Open final. After his instructions, Rybakina overcame a 0-3 game deficit in the third set and did not look back.

Her latest win helped Rybakina improve her head-to-head record over Pegula to 6-3. It was also her fourth consecutive win over the American ace.

Also read: Iga Swiatek’s Physiotherapist Dives Into the Coaching Shakeup After Miami Open Exit

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