Elena Rybakina
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Elena Andreyevna Rybakina, born June 17th, 1999, a Russian-born Kazakhstani professional tennis player, has ascended to the pinnacle of the sport. She's reached a career-high world No. 3 ranking in women's singles, a testament to her formidable talent. Her trophy cabinet boasts an impressive 11 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including the prestigious 2022 Wimbledon Championships, the 2025 WTA Finals, and two WTA 1000 events. Rybakina holds the distinction of being the first Kazakhstani player to conquer a Grand Slam and to break into the world's top 10.
Her junior career was equally stellar, peaking at a No. 3 ranking. Though she began her journey representing Russia, she made a pivotal switch to Kazakhstan in June 2018, just as she was entering the world's top 200. Consistent success on the WTA Tour began to blossom in mid-2019, marked by her first tour title at the Bucharest Open and her debut in the top 100. The year 2020 proved a significant breakthrough, where she led the tour in finals reached. Her upward trajectory continued with a semifinal appearance at the Tokyo Olympics, culminating in her career highlight: winning the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. The 2023 season saw her reach the Australian Open final, clinch two WTA 1000 titles, and achieve a career-high ranking of world No. 3. In 2025, she claimed victory at the WTA Finals.
Rybakina is renowned for her exceptional serve and the sheer power she generates from the baseline. Her game is primarily built from the back of the court.
Born in Moscow on June 17th, 1999, to Andrey Rybakin and Ekaterina, Elena's athletic journey began at a young age. Initially drawn to gymnastics and ice skating alongside her older sister, Anna, she was advised by her father to switch to tennis due to her height. At six years old, she picked up her first tennis racket.
Her development continued at the Spartak Tennis Club, where she benefited from the guidance of accomplished coaches like former top-10 player Andrey Chesnokov and ex-top-100 player Evgenia Kulikovskaya. Her fitness training was overseen by Irina Kiseleva, a modern pentathlon World Championship gold medalist.
Interestingly, Rybakina didn't receive individual training until her junior years, practicing in larger groups. Her daily tennis sessions were limited to about two hours, balanced with three hours of fitness, and a demanding school schedule at a regular high school.
As a junior, Rybakina reached a career-high ranking of No. 3. Her ITF Junior Circuit debut came in November 2013. By March of the following year, she secured her first title at the Grade-3 Almetievsk Cup. She made her junior major debut at the US Open, reaching the third round. After a challenging 2016, her final junior year in 2017 was marked by her first and only Grade-A title at the Trofeo Bonfiglio, defeating Iga Świątek in the final. She also reached the semifinals of the Australian and French Opens. Her junior career concluded at the ITF Junior Masters.
Rybakina's professional career began on the ITF Women's Circuit in December 2014. While still competing as a junior, she reached three singles finals and two doubles finals, winning both doubles titles in 2017. Her WTA Tour debut was at the Kremlin Cup in October 2017. In February 2018, she secured her first WTA Tour match win at the St. Petersburg Trophy, notably upsetting world No. 7 Caroline Garcia. A quarterfinal appearance propelled her into the top 268. In March, she claimed her first ITF singles title in Kazan. Further success came with a runner-up finish at the $60k Lale Cup, bringing her into the top 215 and then the top 200. In June 2018, she acquired Kazakhstani citizenship and switched federations, a decision influenced by the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation's financial support.
The year 2019 saw Rybakina transition to more WTA Tour events. She captured three ITF titles, including the $60k Launceston International. Her Grand Slam debut was at the French Open. Her breakthrough arrived in July with her maiden WTA Tour title at the Bucharest Open, propelling her into the top 65. She reached her second WTA final of the year at the Jiangxi International Open, entering the top 50. Her strong finish included a quarterfinal at the Wuhan Open, where she defeated world No. 6 Simona Halep. She ended the season ranked No. 37.
In 2020, Rybakina led the WTA Tour in finals, reaching four of her first five. Despite the tour's shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she had already reached two finals, losing to world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in both instances. She secured her second WTA title at the Hobart International. Following the tour's resumption, she reached two Premier finals at the St. Petersburg Trophy and the Dubai Championships, defeating top-ten players en route. These achievements propelled her into the top 17, making her the first Kazakhstani player in the top 20.
The 2021 season saw Rybakina reach the French Open quarterfinals without dropping a set, notably defeating Serena Williams. She also reached the doubles quarterfinals at the same tournament. At the Olympic Games, she reached the semifinals before being defeated in the bronze medal match. By November 1st, 2021, she had entered the top 15 at world No. 14, becoming the highest-ranked Kazakhstani player in history.
The year 2022 was monumental for Rybakina. She reached the final of the Adelaide International 1 and achieved a career-high ranking of No. 12. Her "Sunshine Double" campaign saw quarterfinal appearances at Indian Wells and a third-round showing at Miami. Her clay-court season saw mixed results, but she secured vital wins for Kazakhstan in a tie against Germany. The grass-court season culminated in her crowning achievement: winning the Wimbledon Championships. She became the first Kazakhstani singles player to reach a Grand Slam semifinal and then her first Major final, defeating Ons Jabeur in a thrilling three-set match. Her victory sparked international discourse regarding her nationality. The North American hardcourt season saw early exits, but she reached the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Open before a first-round loss at the US Open.
The 2023 season was marked by a major final appearance and a rise to World No. 3. She reached her second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, defeating world No. 1 Iga Świątek en route, before ultimately losing to Aryna Sabalenka. This achievement propelled her into the top 10, making her the first player representing Kazakhstan to do so. She secured her first WTA 1000 title at Indian Wells, defeating Aryna Sabalenka again in the final, and reached a career-high ranking of world No. 7. She followed this with another WTA 1000 title at the Italian Open, defeating Iga Świątek for the third time and achieving a career-high ranking of world No. 4. She reached No. 3 in the world on June 12th, 2023. At Wimbledon, as defending champion, she reached the quarterfinals. She also reached her first career semifinal at the Canadian Open, in a match that became the longest of her career. She concluded the year with a third-round exit at the US Open.
In 2024, Rybakina began the season by winning the Brisbane International. She reached the quarterfinals at the French Open, but her grass-court season was hampered by illness, leading to retirements and withdrawals. At Wimbledon, she reached the semifinals. She withdrew from the Paris Olympics due to acute bronchitis and later from the US Open due to unspecified injuries. She concluded the year by playing at the WTA Finals, failing to reach the semifinals despite a win over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
The 2025 season saw Rybakina win the WTA Finals, adding another major title to her impressive resume. She also reached back-to-back-to-back tour-level quarterfinals at the Dubai Tennis Championships and reached the fourth round of Indian Wells and the second round of the Miami Open. She captured her first title in over a year at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, before reaching the fourth round of the French Open. Her grass season included quarterfinal appearances at the Queen's Club Championships and the Berlin Open, and a third-round exit at Wimbledon. She reached semifinals at the DC Open and the National Bank Open, and recorded wins over top-10 players at the Cincinnati Open before losing in the semifinals to Iga Swiatek. At the US Open, she reached the fourth round for the first time in her career. She finished her season with quarterfinal appearances at the China Open and the Wuhan Open.
Rybakina's playing style is characterized by an aggressive baseline game, a powerful serve capable of generating numerous aces, and high-powered groundstrokes. Her game, while high-risk, leads to a significant number of winners. She plays with a calm demeanor, believing in her ability to defeat any opponent.
Her coaching journey includes Andrei Chesnokov, followed by Stefano Vukov, with whom she achieved significant success. In November 2024, she announced Goran Ivanišević as her coach, and in January 2025, Vukov was rehired as an additional coach. Following Vukov's temporary suspension, Davide Sanguinetti took over, before Vukov's return.
Rybakina has established notable rivalries with Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek, Jasmine Paolini, and Paula Badosa, each contributing to some of the most anticipated matches on the WTA Tour.
Her endorsements include Yonex for clothing and shoes since 2023, and she has previously been endorsed by Adidas and Nike. She also cooperates with Bank RBK and has made significant donations to support rising female tennis players in Kazakhstan.
Rybakina's career statistics highlight her consistent performance across singles and doubles, with notable Grand Slam and WTA Finals achievements. She has been recognized with the Order of Friendship and the Order of Barys in Kazakhstan.
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Elena Andreyevna Rybakina (born 17 June 1999) is a Russian-born Kazakhstani professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in women's singles by the WTA. Rybakina has won 11 WTA Tour–level singles titles, including a major at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, as well as the 2025 WTA Finals and two WTA 1000 events. Rybakina is the first Kazakhstani to win a major and to be ranked in the world's top 10.
As a junior, Rybakina reached a career-high junior ranking of No. 3. Born and playing as a Russian, she switched federations to Kazakhstan in June 2018, having just entered the world's top 200. Her first consistent success on the WTA Tour came in mid-2019 and included her first tour title at the Bucharest Open and her top 100 debut. Rybakina made a breakthrough in 2020, during which she led the tour with five finals. She continued to improve, reaching the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics, and marked her career highlight by winning the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. Her 2023 season saw her reach the Australian Open final, win two WTA 1000 titles, and reach the world No. 3 ranking. In 2025, she won the 2025 WTA Finals.
Rybakina is noted for her excellent serve and can generate high-powered groundstrokes. She plays primarily from the baseline.
== Early life and background ==
Elena Rybakina was born on 17 June 1999 in Moscow to Andrey Rybakin and Ekaterina. She started playing sports with her older sister, Anna, from a very young age, originally focusing on gymnastics and ice skating. Upon being told that she was too tall to become a professional in either of those sports, her father suggested she switch to tennis instead because of his interest in the sport. Rybakina began playing tennis at the age of six.
Rybakina moved from the Dynamo Sports Club to the Spartak Tennis Club, where she had several accomplished coaches. She trained with former top-10 player Andrey Chesnokov and former top-100 player Evgenia Kulikovskaya. One of her fitness coaches was Irina Kiseleva, a World Championship gold medalist in the modern pentathlon.
Rybakina did not have individual training until she was a junior, instead practicing in a group of about eight players up until age 15 and a group of four players through age 18. She also only played tennis about two hours per day and trained in fitness for three hours a day. Her time for tennis was limited in part because she attended a regular high school not specialized for athletes and needed to balance tennis with schoolwork.
== Juniors ==
Rybakina is a former world No. 3 junior. She began playing on the ITF Junior Circuit in November 2013 at the age of 14. The following March, she won her first title at her second career event, the Grade-3 Almetievsk Cup. She played her first Grade-2 event in June at the Ozerov Cup in Moscow, finishing runner-up to compatriot Anna Blinkova. She began playing Grade-1 events from the start of 2015, but did not have any success until she reached the final at the Belgian International Junior Championships in May, losing to Katharina Hobgarski.
Rybakina made her junior-major debut later in the year at the US Open, where she reached the third round. Following an opening-round loss at the 2016 Australian Open, she won back-to-back Grade-1 titles. She continued to struggle at the junior Grand Slam and other Grade-A events in singles for the rest of the year. Her best result of 2016 at the Grade A-events came in doubles when she finished runner-up to Olesya Pervushina and Anastasia Potapova at the Trofeo Bonfiglio, alongside Amina Anshba in an all-Russian final.
The 2017 season was Rybakina's last year on the junior tour. In the middle of the season, she won her first and only Grade-A title at the Trofeo Bonfiglio, defeating Iga Świątek in the final. She also fared better at the Grand Slam events compared to previous years, losing in the semifinals of the Australian Open and the French Open to eventual champions Marta Kostyuk and Whitney Osuigwe, respectively. She finished her junior career at the first round-robin edition of the ITF Junior Masters, the junior counterpart to the WTA Finals. She won one match in her round-robin group and finished in seventh place.
== Professional career ==
=== 2014–18: First ITF titles, federation change ===
Rybakina began playing on the ITF Women's Circuit in December 2014, at the age of fifteen. While she was still playing on the junior circuit, she reached three ITF finals in singles and two in doubles, winning both of the doubles finals only in 2017. She also made her WTA Tour debut in October 2017 at the Kremlin Cup, where she reached the main draw through qualifying but lost in the opening round to Irina-Camelia Begu.
At her next WTA tournament in February 2018, Rybakina won her first WTA Tour match at the St. Petersburg Trophy against Timea Bacsinszky. She then upset world No. 7, Caroline Garcia, in three sets, after saving a match point in the second set. Losing in the next round, this quarterfinal appearance helped her rise from No. 450 to No. 268 in the world. In March, Rybakina won her first ITF singles title at a $15k event in Kazan, where she also won the doubles title.
Her next significant rankings jump came in April when she finished runner-up to Sabina Sharipova at the $60k Lale Cup in Istanbul, bringing her to No. 215. She broke into the top 200 for the first time in late May. The following month, Rybakina acquired Kazakhstani citizenship and switched federations from Russia to Kazakhstan, having just turned nineteen years old at the time. The Kazakhstan Tennis Federation had offered her financial support to change her nationality, which she chose over various options to play college tennis in the United States.
Playing for Kazakhstan, Rybakina entered her first Grand Slam qualifying draw at the 2018 US Open, but did not reach the main draw.
=== 2019: First tour title and top 50 ===
After playing mostly ITF events in the first half of 2019, Rybakina began playing primarily on the WTA Tour in the second half of the season. During the first few months of the year, she won three ITF titles, including the $60k Launceston International. She made her Grand Slam debut at the French Open as a qualifier, losing to Kateřina Siniaková. In her first WTA event on grass, Rybakina made her first semifinal at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships. Despite this success, she lost in qualifying at Wimbledon. Rybakina's breakthrough came in July when she won her maiden WTA Tour title at the Bucharest Open, a month after turning 20 years old. During the event, she upset second seed Viktória Kužmová before defeating Patricia Maria Țig in the final. With this title, she made her top 100 debut in the WTA rankings at No. 65.
Rybakina qualified for her second main-draw Grand Slam match of the year at the US Open, but again lost in the first round. At her next tournament, she made her second WTA Tour tournament final of the year at the Jiangxi International Open, finishing runner-up to Rebecca Peterson. This result brought her into the top 50 for the first time. Rybakina closed out the year strong, reaching at least the quarterfinals at her last three events of the season. In particular, she reached the quarterfinals at the Wuhan Open, her first career Premier-5 event. In the tournament, she defeated world No. 6, Simona Halep, who retired late in the first set with a lower back injury. She lost in the next round to eventual champion and world No. 14, Aryna Sabalenka. Rybakina finished the season at No. 37 in the world.
=== 2020: Five finals and top 20 ===
Rybakina led the WTA Tour in finals during the 2020 season, and finished tied for second in match wins. She reached the finals at four of her first five events. Before the COVID-19 pandemic led to the shutdown of the WTA Tour for more than five months, she had reached the final of every tournament except for the Australian Open and the Qatar Ladies Open, losing to world No. 1, Ashleigh Barty, in both instances, the latter in a walkover due to an abductor strain in her leg. Prior to the Australian Open, her two finals came at International events. After losing her first final of the year to Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Shenzhen Open, she defeated Zhang Shuai to win her second WTA title at the Hobart International. At Melbourne, she recorded her first two Grand Slam main-draw match wins against Bernarda Pera and Greet Minnen. Following the tournament, she reached two Premier finals at the St. Petersburg Trophy and the Dubai Championships, finishing runner-up to No. 8 Kiki Bertens and No. 2 Simona Halep, respectively. At Dubai in particular, Rybakina defeated two top-ten players in No. 7 Sofia Kenin and No. 3 Karolína Plíšková, the latter of which was the highest ranked player she had defeated to date. These four finals helped her climb to No. 17 in the world at the time of the tour shutdown. She also became the first Kazakhstani player in the top 20 in history.
During the bulk of the shutdown, Rybakina stayed in Moscow and did not have the opportunity to practice for two and a half months. She eventually resumed training in Bratislava, Slovakia for five weeks. When the tour resumed in New York in August, she lost her return match to Alexandrova and then only recorded one match win at the US Open. Back in Europe, she finally defeated Alexandrova at the Italian Open in her third opportunity of the year before squandering a chance to serve out the match in a third-round loss to Yulia Putintseva. At the Internationaux de Strasbourg, Rybakina reached her fifth final of the year and first since the resumption of the tour, losing in the final to No. 5, Elina Svitolina. She did not carry this success to the next major, losing to Fiona Ferro in the second round at the French Open.
=== 2021: French Open quarterfinals ===
She reached the quarterfinals of the French Open without dropping a set when she defeated Serena Williams in the fourth round. At the same tournament, she also reached the quarterfinals in doubles, partnering Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova; incidentally, Pavlyuchenkova was the opponent who defeated her in the quarterfinals of the singles portion of the 2021 French Open.
Rybakina was the 15th seed of the Olympic Games tennis tournament, winning her first three matches without losing a set before a semifinals defeat to Belinda Bencic. In the bronze medal match, Rybakina was defeated in a comeback by Elina Svitolina.
On 1 November 2021, she made her debut in the top 15, at world No. 14, becoming the highest ranked Kazakhstani player in history.
=== 2022: Wimbledon champion ===
Rybakina started the season at the Adelaide International 1, making it to the final where she was defeated by world No. 1, Ash Barty. Her success continued at the Sydney Tennis Classic with a lopsided defeat of reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu, in the first round. She subsequently withdrew from the tournament citing a thigh injury. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 12, on 17 January 2022.
Her remaining early hardcourt season saw little progress with a second-round retirement and a walkover at the Australian Open and St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy, respectively, and a first-round loss at the Qatar Ladies Open. Her "Sunshine Double" (Miami and Indian Wells) saw improvement with a quarterfinal appearance at the Indian Wells Open against Maria Sakkari and a third-round appearance to Jessica Pegula at the Miami Open.
Her clay-court season began with a second-round loss to Anhelina Kalinina after a first-round bye at Charleston. Following this, she represented Kazakhstan as the team's top seed and won both of her singles matches in a tie against Germany securing a berth in the finals later in the year. The remainder of her clay-court season saw little achievement as she failed to advance into the quarterfinals at the Stuttgart Open, Madrid Open, Italian Open, and French Open.
Rybakina's grass-court season in the lead up to Wimbledon saw a second-round loss to Shelby Rogers at the Rosmalen Open followed by a first-round bye and a second-round loss to Lesia Tsurenko at the Eastbourne International. At the Wimbledon Championships, she reached her second Grand Slam quarterfinal, defeating CoCo Vandeweghe, Bianca Andreescu, Zheng Qinwen and Petra Martić. Then she reached the semifinals at a Major for the first time, defeating Ajla Tomljanović in her quarterfinal match. She became the first Kazakhstani singles player (male or female) to reach the semifinal of a Grand Slam. Then she reached her first Major final, after defeating Simona Halep in straight sets, becoming the youngest Wimbledon finalist since Garbiñe Muguruza in 2015. After dropping the first set, she defeated Ons Jabeur in three sets to secure her first major title. She became the youngest woman champion since the 21-year-old Petra Kvitová in 2011. She was the fourth-youngest active Grand Slam champion, older only than Iga Świątek, Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu. Rybakina's Russian nationality and previous international representation of Russia became a matter of public discourse in the aftermath of her success at Wimbledon 2022, where Wimbledon had banned athletes representing Russia and Belarus due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russian state media celebrated Rybakina's win as a national victory despite her longstanding decision not to represent the country of her birth.
The North American hardcourt season began with early losses at the Silicon Valley Classic (first round) and Canadian Open (second). Her US Open preparations continued at the Cincinnati Open where she advanced to the quarterfinals and was defeated by Madison Keys. Her season continued next with an entry to the US Open as the 25th seed; however, she lost in the first round to qualifier Clara Burel.
=== 2023: Major final, World No. 3 ===
Rybakina started the season at the Adelaide International 1, defeating Danielle Collins in three sets before losing to Marta Kostyuk in the second round. She followed it by another loss in Adelaide International 2 to Petra Kvitová in straight sets. However, she reached the doubles final with partner Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. At the Australian Open, Rybakina defeated 2022 finalist Danielle Collins again in the third round, world No. 1 Iga Świątek in the fourth round to become the first Kazakhstani woman to reach the quarterfinals at this major. Next, she defeated former French Open champion Jeļena Ostapenko to reach her first Australian Open semifinal. In the semifinals, she defeated former world No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion, Victoria Azarenka, in straight sets, reaching the second Grand Slam final of her career. However, despite winning the first set, Rybakina ultimately lost the championship match to Aryna Sabalenka in a high quality encounter. She reached the top 10 on 30 January 2023 making her the first player representing Kazakhstan, male or female, ever to reach the top 10 on either the ATP or WTA rankings.
In Abu Dhabi, defeating Karolina Plíšková, she made the quarterfinals where she lost to Beatriz Haddad Maia.
In Dubai, she reached the third round by beating Bianca Andreescu and Marie Bouzková in straight sets. She withdrew from her third round match against fifth seed Coco Gauff due to a lower-back injury.
At Indian Wells, as the tenth seed, she made her second consecutive Indian Wells quarterfinal defeating Sofia Kenin, 21st seed Paula Badosa and Varvara Gracheva. Then, she defeated Karolína Muchová to reach her first WTA 1000 semifinal. In the semifinals, she moved past the defending champion Świątek, in straight sets, for the second time in 2023 to reach her first WTA 1000 final. In the final, she edged second seed Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets, reversing the result of their matchup in the Australian Open final for her first WTA 1000 title. This result pushed her singles ranking to a new career-high of world No. 7.
Following the final in Miami where she lost to 15th seed Petra Kvitová who prevented her from completing the Sunshine Double, and an early second round exit at the Stuttgart Open and the Madrid Open to Beatriz Haddad Maia and Anna Kalinskaya, respectively, she reached a new career-high of world No. 6 on 8 May 2023. She reached the quarterfinals at the Italian Open and moved to a new career-high ranking of world No. 5 with wins over Jasmine Paolini, Anna Kalinskaya by retirement, and Markéta Vondroušová. Next she defeated world No. 1, Iga Świątek (who retired during the deciding set due to injury) for the third time to reach her first Rome semifinal. Rybakina reached her third WTA 1000 final of the season defeating Jeļena Ostapenko. She became the third player in the Open era to reach the final in the same season at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami Open plus Rome, after Monica Seles in 1991 and Maria Sharapova in 2012. She won her first WTA 1000 clay title, after Anhelina Kalinina retired in the second set, and moved to a career-high ranking of world No. 4, on 22 May 2023. At the French Open, despite her walkover due to respiratory illness in the third round, she reached No. 3 in the world rankings on 12 June 2023. On 26 June 2023, Rybakina announced her withdrawal from the Eastbourne International event with a viral illness.
At Wimbledon, Rybakina as defending champion reached the quarterfinals where she lost to Ons Jabeur in three sets.
Following her quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon, she reached the semifinals at the Canadian Open for the first time in her career. She overcame Jennifer Brady and Sloane Stephens before defeating Daria Kasatkina in a match that lasted 3 hours and 27 minutes, the longest match of Rybakina's career. The match finished at 2:55am local time. In the semifinals Rybakina lost to Liudmila Samsonova in three sets reporting that she felt 'destroyed' physically in the post-match press conference because of the scheduling issues she faced during the tournament.
She reached the third round of the US Open as the fourth seed, losing to Sorana Cîrstea in three sets.
=== 2024: Three WTA 500 titles, illnesses ===
Rybakina started her 2024 season by winning the Brisbane International final against Aryna Sabalenka, before going out in the second-round at the Australian Open to Anna Blinkova in a match that featured the longest tie-break in Grand Slam history.
She won the Abu Dhabi Open in February, beating Daria Kasatkina in the final. Rybakina secured her third title of the season in April at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, beating two-time defending champion Iga Świątek in the semifinals, and then Marta Kostyuk in straight sets in the final. She made it through to the quarterfinals at the French Open, before losing to eventual runner-up Jasmine Paolini.
Moving onto the grass-court swing of the year, Rybakina retired due to illness during her quarterfinal match against Victoria Azarenka at the Berlin Ladies Open and then withdrew from the following week's Eastbourne International. At Wimbledon, she steamrollered former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, in just 57 minutes and for the loss of only one game in the third round, before winning her next match when opponent
Anna Kalinskaya retired injured in the second set. Rybakina then beat Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals. However, she lost to Barbora Krejčíková in the semifinals.
Rybakina withdrew from the Paris Olympics two days before it got underway due to acute bronchitis. She defeated qualifier Destanee Aiava in the first round at the US Open but then withdrew from the tournament due to unspecified injuries. On 23 September, Rybakina announced she would miss the entire Asian swing of the season due to a back injury.
Rybakina played her first match since August at the WTA Finals in November, losing her opening group contest to Jasmine Paolini in straight sets. She lost her second group match in three sets to Zheng Qinwen. Despite defeating world No.1, Aryna Sabalenka, in her final group match, Rybakina failed to reach the semifinals.
=== 2025: WTA Finals Champion ===
Rybakina began her season at the 2025 United Cup. She then played in the Australian Open, before losing to eventual champion Madison Keys in the fourth round.
At the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships Rybakina reached back-to-back-to-back tour-level quarterfinals defeating world No. 10, Paula Badosa, after saving six match points. Next, she defeated Sofia Kenin to reach her second semifinal in the Middle East swing (first was in Abu Dhabi) and ninth overall at the WTA 1000-level. She lost to 12th seed Mirra Andreeva in three sets.
At Indian Wells, she defeated Suzan Lamens in the second round and Katie Boulter in the third round before losing again to Andreeva in the fourth round, this time in straight sets. Having reached the finals the year prior, Rybakina entered the 2025 Miami Open seeded seventh, and lost to Ashlyn Krueger in three sets in the second round. Defending 500 points from her win in Stuttgart the previous year, she instead opted to play in the qualifiers for the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup and dropped to No. 11 in the rankings on 21 April 2025.
At the Madrid Open, Rybakina defeated Bianca Andreescu in the second round before losing to No. 17 seed Elina Svitolina in the third round. However, at the 2025 Italian Open, she defeated Eva Lys in the second round before losing to Andreescu in the third round.As a last minute entry into the Internationaux de Strasbourg, Rybakina defeated Wang Xinyu, Magda Linette, and No. 9 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia to reach her first final since April 2024. In the final, she defeated eighth seed Liudmila Samsonova in three sets to capture her first title in over a year. Seeded 12th, Rybakina then reached the fourth round of the 2025 French Open, before losing to Iga Świątek in three sets.
Rybakina began her grass season at the WTA 500-level Queen's Club Championships, where she lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion, Tatjana Maria. She then reached the quarterfinals of the 2025 Berlin Open, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in three sets, despite having four match points. Having reached the semifinals in 2024, Rybakina lost to Clara Tauson in the third round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
In July, Rybakina played in the WTA 500-level 2025 DC Open, where she reached the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Leylah Fernandez in a grueling match that lasted over three hours and featured three tiebreaks. She then played in the 2025 National Bank Open in Montreal, Canada, where she again reached the semifinals before losing to wildcard and eventual champion, Victoria Mboko. At the 2025 Cincinnati Open, she defeated world No. 6 Madison Keys in the fourth round, recording her first win against a top-10 player since February. She then defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals, marking her 7th win over a world No. 1 player, before losing in the semifinals to No. 2 seed and eventual champion, Iga Swiatek. Seeded 9th at the 2025 US Open, Rybakina defeated sixteen-year-old wildcard Julieta Pareja, qualifier Tereza Valentová, and doubles partner and former champion Emma Raducanu to reach the fourth round for the first time in her career, where she lost to 2023 Wimbledon Champion Markéta Vondroušová.
At the WTA 1000-level China Open in September, Rybakina had a first round bye, then defeated Caty McNally in the second round before losing to German player Eva Lys in round three. A few weeks later, at the 1000-level Wuhan Open, Rybakina again had a first round bye, and defeated Jaqueline Cristian and Linda Nosková, before losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals.
== Playing style ==
With a powerful serve, Rybakina is an aggressive baseliner who aims to finish points quickly, and whose high risk game style leads to an accumulation of both winners and unforced errors. She can generate effortless power, both on groundstrokes and her serve. Her forehand and backhand are both hit flat, with relentless depth and speed, allowing her to generate excellent power with both her groundstrokes, and she can hit winners with both shots. Her serve, which is capable of reaching 127 mph (204 km/h), allows her to serve a large number of aces. She led the tour in the ace count in both 2020, with 192 aces, and in 2025, when she became the first player since Karolína Plíšková to hit over 500 aces in a single season. She also has good movement given her height, although this is one of the few weak areas in her game. Adriano Albanesi, a WTA coach, described her as "a right-handed [Petra] Kvitová". Rybakina plays with a very calm demeanor, and believes she can defeat any opponent.
== Coaches ==
Rybakina hired Andrei Chesnokov, whom she had already trained with at Spartak Tennis Club, to be her private coach in 2018 at the age of 18. This was the first time she had an individual coach. Chesnokov only coached in Moscow and did not travel with her to tournaments. In February 2019, Rybakina switched coaches to Stefano Vukov, a Croatian former tennis player who briefly competed mainly on the ITF Futures tour. With Vukov as her first travelling coach, Rybakina rapidly improved, rising from just inside the top 200 of the WTA rankings into the top 30 in about a year. In November 2024, she announced Goran Ivanišević as her new coach having split from Vukov after that year's US Open. They worked together until her 2025 Australian Open exit.
In January 2025, Rybakina rehired Vukov as an additional coach; he was subsequently suspended by the WTA under a code of conduct investigation, and later banned for 12 months, barring him from gaining accreditation at WTA–sanctioned events. In his absence, Rybakina hired Italian coach and former ATP tour player Davide Sanguinetti. Vukov's ban was removed in August that same year, and he returned to coaching Rybakina. According to the Athletic, Rybakina told several people that "her relationship with [Vukov] had become personal and romantic"; they were said to have shared a hotel room in Melbourne during the Australian Open.
== Rivalries ==
Elena Rybakina has established several notable rivalries during her career on the WTA Tour.
=== Aryna Sabalenka ===
Her rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka is among the most prominent. They have faced each other 14 times in total, with Sabalenka leading their head-to-head 8–6. Both players are known for their aggressive baseline play, resulting in fast-paced and intense matches. A notable encounter was the 2024 Madrid Open, where Sabalenka came back from a set and a break down to win in three sets. Rybakina secured a significant victory at the 2023 Indian Wells Open, winning in straight sets. Rybakina defeated Sabalenka again in the finals of the 2025 WTA Finals in Riyadh to win her first WTA Finals title.
=== Iga Świątek ===
Rybakina has also developed a competitive rivalry with Iga Świątek. They have met 11 times, with Świątek leading their head-to-head 6–5. Their matches are highly anticipated due to their contrasting playing styles and high rankings. Rybakina came back from a set down to win at the 2025 WTA Finals in Riyadh and snapped a four match losing streak.
=== Jasmine Paolini ===
Another significant rivalry is with Jasmine Paolini. They have faced each other six times, with the head-to-head split 3–3. Paolini's most notable win came at the 2024 French Open quarterfinals, where she defeated Rybakina 6–2, 7–6, marking her first win over a top-five player at a major and propelling her into her first Grand Slam semifinal.
=== Paula Badosa ===
Rybakina has also had notable encounters with Paula Badosa, with their head-to-head record standing at 4–4. Their matches are often closely contested, reflecting their similar aggressive playing styles.
== Endorsements ==
Rybakina has been sponsored by Yonex for clothing and shoes since the 2023 French Open. She had previously been endorsed by Adidas from the start of 2020, and by Nike. She uses a Yonex VCore 100 racket.
On 24 January 2023, Rybakina began to cooperate with Bank RBK.
In March 2023, Rybakina donated ₸35 million to rising female tennis players in Kazakhstan.
== Career statistics ==
=== Grand Slam tournament performance timelines ===
==== Singles ====
==== Doubles ====
Note: Rybakina switched federations from Russian to Kazakhstani in June 2018.
=== Grand Slam tournaments finals ===
==== Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up) ====
=== Year-end championships (WTA Finals) ===
==== Singles: 1 (1 title) ====
== Awards ==
Order of Friendship (Kazakhstan) II degree – 2022
Order of Barys (Kazakhstan) III degree – 2025
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Elena Rybakina at the Women's Tennis Association
Elena Rybakina at the International Tennis Federation
Elena Rybakina at the Billie Jean King Cup (archived former page)
Elena Rybakina at Olympics.com
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