Elena Rybakina finished her 2025 season in brilliant form…
The Kazakh star enjoyed a strong Asian swing, as she qualified for the WTA Finals at the expense of Mirra Andreeva.
Making the most of the opportunity, Rybakina won the WTA Finals, defeating Aryna Sabalenka to clinch the $5 million prize.
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Following her win in Saudi Arabia, many began to question whether Rybakina would win a Grand Slam in the new year.
Weighing in on the debate, former US Open champion Andy Roddick shared his thoughts.
Andy Roddick says Elena Rybakina can win a major in 2026, ‘no doubt’
During the latest episode of ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘, the American made an interesting observation about the world number five.
“Elena Rybakina presents as someone who is like a number one draft pick in the NBA,” he said.
“There are good draft picks who are all stars, and then there are people who are drafted number one, and I’m not saying she is going to have the career of these people, but they look and feel different with what they are bringing.
“She is 6ft 2 inches, her serve is huge.
“The problems we talk about are rarely about her game.
“Maybe she was banged up, maybe it was off the court. She feels like a number one draft pick. Where it’s like out of this draft class, Rybakina is being drafted one, who is the rest?
“You look at [Aryna] Sabalenka, [Iga] Swiatek, and [Coco] Gauff, and Rybakina is that person, in my opinion.”
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Roddick then predicted whether Rybakina would win a Grand Slam in 2026.
“She finished the year strongly. Seems settled. I think she can win a major next year, no doubt,” he said.
“She is in that upper tier as far as ability goes, pretty easily, I think. I could not think more of her game, so we will see what 2026 brings.
“But she has a five next to her name.
Official WTA Rankings
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
| 1 | Aryna Sabalenka | Belarus | 10,870 |
| 2 | Iga Swiatek | Poland | 8,395 |
| 3 | Coco Gauff | USA | 6,763 |
| 4 | Amanda Anisimova | USA | 6,287 |
| 5 | Elena Rybakina | Kazakhstan | 5,850 |
| 6 | Jessica Pegula | USA | 5,583 |
| 7 | Madison Keys | USA | 4,335 |
| 8 | Jasmine Paolini | Italy | 4,325 |
| 9 | Mirra Andreeva | Russia | 4,319 |
| 10 | Ekaterina Alexandrova | Russia | 3,375 |
“Barring missing months and months and months, and I feel that is the caveat we do with everything, she is going to be higher than that.”
Roddick reckons Rybakina has what it takes to win a Grand Slam in 2026, but how has she performed at the major tournaments recently?
Elena Rybakina’s Grand Slam record
Making her Grand Slam debut in 2018, Rybakina won her first major four years later, at Wimbledon.
She reached another final a year later in Melbourne, but has yet to win her second Grand Slam.
| Grand Slam | Best performance | 2025 performance | Win/Loss record | Win % |
| Australian Open | F – 2023 | 4R | 14-6 | 70% |
| French Open | QF – 2021, 2024 | 4R | 16-6 | 73% |
| Wimbledon | W – 2022 | 3R | 21-4 | 84% |
| US Open | 4R – 2025 | 4R | 8-6 | 57% |
Elena Rybakina’s Grand Slam performance breakdown
- W – 1
- F – 1
- SF – 1
- QF – 3
- 4R – 4
- 3R – 6
- 2R – 6
- 1R – 3
She endured a particularly difficult Grand Slam campaign in 2025, failing to reach a single quarterfinal.
Rybakina lost to Madison Keys at the Australian Open (4R), Iga Swiatek at the French Open (4R), Clara Tauson at Wimbledon (3R), and to Marketa Vondrousova at the US Open (4R).
Only time will tell if she can play better in 2026, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.
Perhaps Rybakina will win her second Grand Slam at the upcoming Australian Open, which begins on Sunday, January 18.
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