Elena Rybakina Admits Becoming World No.1 This Year “Is a Very Difficult Goal”

Elena Rybakina to kick off her Stuttgart Open campaign against Diana Shnaider.

Elena Rybakina Admits Becoming World No.1 This Year “Is a Very Difficult Goal”

Elena Rybakina (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

In Short
  • Elena Rybakina acknowledges that becoming World No.1 this year is a challenging goal.
  • She aims to improve her performance in the clay-court season to close the points gap with Aryna Sabalenka.
  • Rybakina is currently competing in the Stuttgart Open and preparing for upcoming tournaments in Madrid and Rome.

Elena Rybakina is leading a stacked top field in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The number one seed is the favorite to win the title as she did two years ago and gain an extra 500 points, which would edge her closer to the chance of one day becoming World No.1, but she believes it will still be very difficult to accomplish this season.

Rybakina didn’t play at the Stuttgart Open last season as she decided to skip the tournament despite being the 2024 champion. She has fewer points to defend in this clay-court season than World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, who finished as a runner-up in Stuttgart last year but decided not to compete this season due to injury.

Sabalenka won the Madrid Open last year and then finished as runner-up in the French Open and crashed out in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open. Aside from a WTA 250 title won in Strasbourg last year, it was a hugely frustrating clay season last year. She exited in the third round in Madrid and Rome.

She fell to Iga Swiatek in the fourth round of the Roland Garros, leaving much work to be done. Should she do better in these tournaments this season, she’s bound to close the 3,000 points gap between her and Sabalenka. However, she has to start by winning the Stuttgart Open this week.

The World No.2 will challenge Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini, and other top stars at the Stuttgart Open. Speaking during her press conference, Rybakina explained that her goal this season is to keep improving on the court, as toppling Sabalenka at the No.1 position will be very difficult to achieve:

I don’t really think about it so much, because she’s not here, but I still need to perform. That’s the first thing. And if I do the right things, I think the most important thing is to achieve this and somehow to maintain, and it’s very difficult, difficult goal, and I’m working for it, so hopefully it will happen. But I don’t really look at the points each tournament. I just know that I need to do well, at this point to come almost till the end of the tournament no matter what I play.

Rybakina reached the final of the Indian Wells and then the semi-finals of the Miami Open. The World No.2 has been in extraordinary form this season, which has seen her rise to No.2 in the WTA rankings. Should she continue with the form this clay season, she will be able to win one or two titles, perhaps a WTA 1000 crown.

Elena Rybakina admits she mostly slept at the hectic Sunshine Double schedule

Elena Rybakina chose to go to Bratislava, Slovakia, to begin her preparation for the clay-court season. The Australian Open champion also had enough time to recover from the hectic Sunshine Double schedule, having won nine matches in Indian Wells and the Miami Open combined. Heading into the clay season, her fitness level is paramount.

Elena Rybakina (2)
Elena Rybakina (Image via X/AllABoutHQ)

She’s playing at the Stuttgart Open and a few days later will feature at the Madrid Open. After a week’s rest, Rybakina will then take to the court at the Italian Open before heading to Paris for the Roland Garros. The 26-year-old revealed during the aforementioned press conference that she’s focused on reaching her best fitness level:

Well, I had a couple of days off, and honestly, jet lag was pretty tough from Miami, so I was mostly sleeping. After we started preparation, I needed to do some work physically, because Indian Wells, Miami, long tournaments, and on the last match, I felt that my fitness dropped a little bit and I definitely need to work on it. It was just couple days, and then preparation.

Rybakina will take on Diana Shnaider in her opening match at the Stuttgart Open. She’s projected to face Jasmine Paolini in the quarter-finals and then Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals. Should she reach the final, she’s likely to face French Open champion Coco Gauff.

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