“Will she get better courts now?” Tennis Twitter rises in support of Elena Rybakina calling out the ‘disrespect’ she faces despite being the Wimbledon champion
The 23 year old stunned the World No.1 and won rave reviews from the tennis community
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Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek
Elena Rybakina absolutely dominated in her fourth-round clash against World No.1 Iga Swiatek and won 6-4,6-4 and the world of tennis finally took note of the Wimbledon champion. Rybakina performed brilliantly and extended her win record over the Polish star to 2-0 in 2023.
The Kazakhstan international was ruthless on the day, completely outplaying Swiatek. Beating the top seed after not being awarded points for her Wimbledon title last year has made the victory even sweeter for Rybakina. And those celebrating the victory highlighted her unfair treatment by the tour. One fan said, “Hope she [Rybakina] wins the title. Most disrespected GS champ of all time.”
Others backed up that statement and berated the WTA for the disrespect it has continued to show Rybakina. One predicted, “Organisers will somehow find a way to put Rybakina on Court 15 for her quarter final no doubt. Most disrespected player in tennis.” Another user wished, “Hopefully the WTA Tour starts respecting her more ?” Many tennis fans were also critical of Iga Swiatek’s inability to counter Rybakina effectively. They praised the Kazak for her killer performance and called her the favorite to win the Slam now.
“Elena crushed Iga just overpowered her. She exposed Iga’s lack of plan B. Elena huge serve and massive ground strokes too much,” a fan analyzed. The tennis community widely celebrated Rybakina. The decision by the WTA not to award her points after Wimbledon was much criticized. It led to her dropping to the rank of World No.25 which was the reason for her early clash with Swiatek in Melbourne. The ranking isn’t indicative of the level Rybakina plays at, and it was clearly evident.
Rybakina now heads into the quarterfinal of the 2023 Australian Open. She will face Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, who caused an upset with her win over Coco Gauff. Rybakina will be wary of Ostapenko, having been on the losing side the last two times they played. But the two stars come into the match high on confidence and playing at a high level. Regardless of the result, it is bound to be an exciting clash.
Related: Wimbledon champ Elena Rybakina dumps top seed Iga Swiatek out of Australian Open
Elena Rybakina bests Iga Swiatek in two sets
Rybakina dismantled Swiatek to progress to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. She proved her superiority in the first Grand Slam match between two reigning major champions since 2016. Her mentality was revealed after the game where she said playing the World No.1 meant she had nothing to lose.
Rybakina started the match by immediately making a statement. She targeted Swiatek’s second serves and took a 2-0 lead in the first set. Swiatek fought back to make it 2-2 but couldn’t retain that level. Rybakina was brilliant in her service game as she won the first set by winning 79% of her first-service points. The second set was very different. Swiatek took an early 3-0 lead, but Rybakina fought back. She made 11 winners as she won six of the next seven games to take the game.
The performance was reminiscent of the one Rybakina delivered when she beat Swiatek at the United Cup. She is making a habit of winning the big games and hopes to continue the streak against Ostapenko in the next round.
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