The extreme nervous tension. The adrenalin. Elena Rybakina felt it all as she stood at the baseline on match point, relying on one of the best tools at her disposal to clinch the Australian Open title.
“Even maybe (my) face didn’t show, but inside it was a lot of emotions,” Rybakina recalled of that ace, cooly and matter-of-factly served, that gave top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka no chance of extending the contest.
The 26-year-old Rybakina clearly isn’t one for euphoric, jubilant celebrations, as tennis rivals and observers noted in her run to the Wimbledon title in 2022.
After ending any lingering doubts that she’d ever be able to add another major title with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win Saturday over the world No. 1, her reserved and understated reaction was again a defining feature.
Expect to see more of it — the winning part, not demonstrative celebrations. It’s her secret to success.
Within three months, she has won the WTA Finals, beating Sabalenka to collect a record $5.2 million in prize money, and, more importantly in tennis terms, added another of the sport’s four most treasured trophies.
The No. 5 seed has shrugged off any doubt that she’s a top contender for the biggest titles with a run that included second-week victories over No. 1 Sabalenka, a four-time major winner and four-time runner-up, No. 2 Iga Świątek, a six-time major winner, and No. 6-ranked Jessica Pegula.
“Of course, they’re tough opponents, and they have great results, and for so long they are at the top and its stable,” she said. “Yeah, it’s a lot of tough matches I had here — I’m glad that the opportunities which I was getting during the match, I managed to take it.”
She’ll return to No. 3 in the rankings next week.
The recent rise
Rybakina’s resurgence is coming off a 2025 season that was interrupted by the monthslong suspension of her coach by the WTA and up-and-down form.
Rybakina has been working with Stefano Vukov since 2019. Most recently, she said, clear communication has been the key in preparation and competition.
Her support team give her the information — there’s an almost unending stream of technical and tactical advice from the coach’s box during her matches —- and she processes it in real time and works it out on court.
Her first real interactions with anyone other than Sabalenka after the victory were with her support team in the courtside seating.
First she hugged Vukov. Then, one-by-one, she hugged the other three.
The comeback
After winning Wimbledon in 2022 and losing the 2023 Australian Open final to Sabalenka, Rybakina’s form went hot and cold.
While Sabalenka and Świątek were able to win majors and stay at the top, some wondered whether Rybakina would ever return to being a real threat for the majors.
“I always believed that I can come back to the level I was,” she said. “Of course, we all have ups and downs. Like I think everyone. I thought maybe I will never be again in the final or even get a trophy, but it’s all about the work.
“I think we’ve been putting a lot of work in with the team, and they were also very supportive — in the moments when I was maybe not that positive, they would be helping out on the side.”
She has now won 20 of her last 21 matches. In her most recent matches against Top 10 players, she’s 10-0.
“Of course, when you getting after some wins, big wins against top players,” she said. “Then you start to believe more, you get more confident.”
And then, there’s timing.
“I’m just very proud of the work we did with the team, and actually that I found my kind of best form here at the Grand Slam,” said Rybakina, who was born in Moscow but plays for Kazakhstan. “It’s a win for all the team, all the people who support me.”
What’s next
Her run to the 2022 Wimbledon title was memorable for its understatedness in the home of lawn tennis, where she was eventually able to shed some tears in the champion’s news conference. “You wanted some emotion!” she said back then.
On Saturday night, she raised a glass when the tournament director proposed a toast at her official champion’s news conference. She smiled and took a small sip.
On Sunday morning, dressed in a stylish long red dress and her hair out, she held the trophy again and smiled for the cameras on a grassy bank of the Yarra River. Then she prepared for her next flight.
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
