Andy Roddick picks who he thinks is more likely to win a Grand Slam in 2026 between Amanda Anisimova and Elena Rybakina

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Amanda Anisimova and Elena Rybakina enjoyed standout seasons on the WTA Tour in 2025.

The American qualified for her first two major finals, losing to Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon and to Aryna Sabalenka in New York.

She also won two WTA 1000 titles, as Anisimova defeated Jelena Ostapenko in Doha and Linda Noskova in Beijing.

Rybakina, on the other hand, struggled during the first few months of the year, but began to find her form as the season drew to a close.

Finishing with a flurry, Rybakina won the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, returning to the WTA top five in the process.

As both players look forward to 2026, tennis legend Andy Roddick has predicted who is more likely to win a Grand Slam title in the new year.

Andy Roddick says Elena Rybakina is more likely to win a Grand Slam in 2026 than Amanda Anisimova

During the latest episode of ‘Served with Andy Roddick’, the former world number one gave his verdict.

“I think I say [Elena] Rybakina, just because she’s better on clay, so it’s one more opportunity, she’s won Rome before,” he said.

“It’s not her best surface by any means. I think they have the same limitations on the surface, but does she have 3.5 chances at the Slams vs 3? I don’t know.”

Roddick doesn’t think there’s anybody on the WTA Tour who wants to play Rybakina right now.

“I do think Rybakina has the best serve in women’s tennis. When you say [Coco] Gauff, Iga [Swiatek], and [Aryna] Sabalenka, you slot Rybakina into that conversation, and none of them want to play her,” he said.

WTA top three and their H2H vs Elena Rybakina

• Aryna Sabalenka (8-6) Elena Rybakina
• Iga Swiatek (6-5) Elena Rybakina
• Coco Gauff (1-0) Elena Rybakina

“She’s one of the only players who can go toe-to-toe with the consistency of Sabalenka. Sabalenka’s not getting easy looks to knock off second serve returns.”

He did, however, take a moment to praise Anisimova, who has just finished the best year of her professional career.

“Let’s also be sober here. We’re talking about [Amanda] Anisimova against someone who has been at the top of the game, won Wimbledon, and we don’t know the answer,” said Roddick.

“If we rewind 18 months, with Anisimova, she wasn’t in the main draw of Wimbledon; hell of a year for Anisimova.”

Agreeing with Roddick, Jon Wertheim explained why he believes Rybakina may add to her major tally in 2026.

“Recency effect, I might go for Rybakina, that serve is one of the great weapons in modern tennis,” he said.

“People will see that scoreline, 7-6, and they’ll say, ‘She beat Sabalenka in a tiebreaker, that doesn’t happen often’, what happened in the 20 minutes before that is worth going back and watching if you have a chance.

“That serve bailed her out of so many potentially problematic situations.”

Both Roddick and Wertheim believe Rybakina has a better chance of winning a major in 2026 than Anisimova, but how have the pair performed at the four Grand Slam tournaments so far in their careers?

Comparing Amanda Anisimova and Elena Rybakina’s Grand Slam records

Both players have qualified for two major finals, but only Rybakina has won a Grand Slam title.

Elena Rybakina’s Grand Slam record

Amanda Anisimova’s Grand Slam record

The Kazakh won Wimbledon three years ago, but hasn’t been able to add to her tally since.

Only time will tell if she can win her second Grand Slam in 2026, as she looks to carry her end-of-season form through into the new year.

Both Anisimova and Rybakina will be hoping to win the 2026 Australian Open, when the tournament begins on Monday, January 12.