Australian Open redeems itself as the “best atmosphere in the world” as Anna Blinkova shares her motivation behind a tooth-and-nail win against Elena Rybakina

Anna Blinkova stunned top-seeded Elena Rybakina in the second round of the 2024 Australian Open.

Australian Open redeems itself as the “best atmosphere in the world” as Anna Blinkova shares her motivation behind a tooth-and-nail win against Elena Rybakina

Anna Blinkova (L) after defeating Elena Rybakina (R) (Credit: Sky Sports)

After a historic win against Elena Rybakina, Russian player Anna Blinkova has applauded the Australian Open for having the ‘best atmosphere in the world‘. The young WTA player created history by defeating a world number 3 player by an aggressive style including the longest tie-breaker ever in Grand Slam history.

When asked what this win meant to her, Blinkova replied that she already had a lot of motivation before stepping onto the court. One of the motivations that really changed the game for her was the desire to stay at the tournament longer.

YouTube video

She shared at the post-game interview:

FS Video
Before going the court, I was telling myself that I will fight to stay here longer at the Australian Open in the best atmosphere in the world.
Anna Blinkova said

This statement of hers comes right after when the Australian Open was criticized for tormenting the ball kids by forcing them to clean the court themselves. Several pictures were released which showed the ball kids being down on their knees, cleaning the hard court with a towel after rain showered in Melbourne. The incident took place during the number 1 seed Iga Swiatek and Danielle Collins match.

Australian Open has been under criticism for quite long

Since last year, the tournament has been under a ton of criticism. Whether it is the long night matches that overburden the players with exhaustion, risking their health or the constant heat that surrounds the Rod Laver Arena, the AO has to face it all. And maybe for all the right reasons.

Australian Open
Australian Open (Source: ATP Tour)

The recent change of policy has also been drawing a lot of attention. The tournament has changed the seating policy of the spectators. Earlier, the audience could only enter the court when the players were changing ends. But now, the Australian Open has allowed fans to enter the stadium after every game. Due to this, the noises of the foot traffic have been disturbing the players, which has led them to react.

The other side of the criticism comes from people complaining about the heat. The temperature in Melbourne can get as high as 40 degrees Celsius which can hamper the game as well as the health of the players. This happened recently at Jack Draper‘s match who threw up due to the extreme heat. Although the AO has been taking steps like ‘Extreme Heat Policy‘ to help the players, not significant changes can be seen.

In case you missed it: