Elena Rybakina announces herself as an ‘all court player’ with title in Rome
Elena Rybakina lifted her second WTA 1000 trophy in Rome after the injury retirement of Anhelina Kalinina.
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Elena Rybakina (Image Credits: Yahoo Sports Australia)
Elena Rybakina won her first Italian Open title after Anhelina Kalinina took an injury retirement from the court. With the victory in Rome, the World No.7 claimed her second WTA 1000 trophy following her victorious triumph in the Indian Wells Masters.
The Kazak player had quite an inconsistent start to her clay season, after her early exits in Stuttgart and Madrid Open. With her arrival in Rome, the 23-year-old delivered impressive tennis and booked her fourth final spot after defeating Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets. In the 65 minutes final match, Rybakina lifted the Rome Open trophy with a walkover from the Ukrainian player due to a left thigh injury. During her post-match press conference, Rybakina was content with her win and stated that she can play ‘pretty well’ on all surfaces.
“Yeah, well, I think with my game, overall I can play good on all the surfaces. It’s just maybe for clay I need to be ready more physically and maybe have a lot of, like, preparation also, which not always have time to do after like hard court season. Overall, yeah, I think I can play well on all the surfaces,” she said.
The Australian Open finalist also praised Kalinina for an incredible run and wished her a speedy recovery. With constant match delays due to rain factor, Rybakina said that she played the ‘strangest’ weeks of her career but is content with the favorable outcome.
“Yeah, for sure, it’s really strange two weeks for me. Like, I don’t remember when I got retirement on the other tournament. Here it was like three. It’s really strange. Also with the rain delays, I think my schedule is completely different than usually. I was going to sleep really late, waking up almost like in the afternoon. Yeah, it’s strange. But I’m happy that this tough two weeks also finished in a good way for me,” Rybakina said.
Rybakina earlier reached the Miami Open final but finished as a runner-up after the outstanding performance of Petra Kvitova.
Elena Rybakina now potential contender for Roland Garros title
Elena Rybakina had a tough start to her clay campaign, after her early exits in Stuttgart and Madrid. At the Italian Open, the 23-year-old delivered an outstanding performance and lifted her first trophy of the tournament. With the French Open starting on Monday, Rybakina is one of the leading contenders for the championship.
At the French Open last year, the World No.7 made her third-round exit after losing to the American player, Madison Keys. Her partnership with Liudmila Samsonova in the women’s doubles category faced a first-round defeat at the hands of the ‘dynamic duo’ of Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. The Kazak player was named as only the ‘grass and hard court’ performer due to this.
On the other hand, the 23-year-old started her 2023 season with four final WTA Tour appearances and winning two WTA 1000 trophies. With her spectacular performance in Rome, Rybakina has changed her tag of ‘grass and hard court’ player to an ‘all court player’. At the press conference in Italy, the Wimbledon champion expressed her confidence in her game on clay and is looking forward to playing her ‘best tennis’ in Paris.
With a list of names like Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, and Jessica Pegula as potential contenders, Rybakina will be facing huge hurdles on her road to the championship in Roland Garros.
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Tanushree Verma
(52 Articles Published)