Elena Rybakina joins Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova in an elite list after reaching Italian Open final

Rybakina joins Seles and Sharapova in elite list

Elena Rybakina joins Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova in an elite list after reaching Italian Open final

Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova and Elena Rybakina (Image via Laureus, Refinery29 and Wikipedia)

It’s more than amazing if you make it to the finals of multiple tournaments in a year. More so if they include a Grand Slam and master’s series events. There is a tricky combination of finals in there though which not everyone has achieved.

In the history of tennis, only 3 players have made it to the finals in each of the events in that combination. What does that combination include though? The Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami Open, and the Italian Open. It’s not easy to adapt to all the surfaces as the conditions vary drastically.

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The first to do it was Monica Seles in 1991. She started the year in fine fashion by winning the Australian Open. She defeated Jana Novotna 5-7 6-3 6-1 in the final and stamped her authority on the season. She quickly adapted to the conditions of the Indian Wells and made it to the finals. She fell short in the final to Martina Navratilova. Seles changes the result in a week’s time in Maimi. She once again looked flawless as she defeated Gabriela Sabatini in the final 6-3 7-5. The pair moved to clay and both made it to the final of the Rome Masters’ where Sabatini had the last laugh. Nonetheless, it was a near-perfect season for Seles.

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The second to do it was Maria Sharapova in 2012. Sharapova started the season in style by reaching the Australian Open final. She went down to Victoria Azarenka 6-3 6-0. A repeat of that was to be seen at the Indian Wells as Azarenka once again won 6-2 6-3 in the final.

Sharapova showed grit and made it to the Miami final as well. However this time trouble was Agnieszka Radwanska who knocked the Russian 7-5 6-4 in the final. Sharapova didn’t give up and showed up in the Rome final as well. The surface was different and that brought a change in the result. The Russian defeated Li Na 4-6 6-4 7-6 in a thrilling finale. She may not have won many titles however the consistency was on another level.

Well, we are seeing it again. Elena Rybakina becomes the third to achieve this feat. Rybakina announced herself on the tour by winning the Wimbledon last year. The real consistency was to come this year. She raced to the Aussie Open finale. She went down to Aryna Sabalenka in the final 4-6 6-3 6-4. The sweet revenge came at the Indian Wells where the pair met again.

Rybakina knocked Sabalenka in 2. 7-6 6-4 was the score. Miami was the challenge though. She made it to the final however a 30-point tiebreak drained her out as she went down 7-6 6-2 to Petra Kvitova. She currently is placed in the Italian Open final where she takes on Anhelina Kalinina. Rybakina would fancy her chances as the 2023 season has been near perfect for her.

Related: Watch: ‘Sore Loser’ Jelena Ostapenko’s cold handshake with Elena Rybakina after thrashing in Italian Open didn’t sit well with tennis fans

What makes the 4 events so different?

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Elena Rybakina (Image via SkySports)

The Australian Open has its own challenges. Being the first Grand Slam of the year. The pressure is on. Players need to adapt to both outdoor and indoor conditions. Extreme heat or rain could bring on the roof and conditions could change. Under the roof, the ball comes quicker than usual. The Indian Wells is known for its slow surface. It’s almost as if one is playing on clay. The bounce too is very iffy and players are tied in long rallies. This makes it a very challenging task to lift the event.

Miami is quicker than ever. The ball flies. The challenge is massive as players are just coming from the Indian Wells where it’s super slow. That’s the reason it is a major task to win a sunshine double. Which means winning both Indian Wells and Miami in one season. Rome provides you with a different surface altogether. The previous three were hard and Rome is clay. The ball is slower than usual and the bounce is high. Though Rome comparatively is fast clay however the challenges of high bounce still exist.

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