Elena Rybakina has wasted no time in moving on from her Australian Open title, heading straight from Melbourne to the Middle East ahead of her next event.
The stakes get no lower for her though, as she will be the second seed and huge favourite once again to challenge for the Masters 1000 title in Qatar.
Her prowess on hard courts has always been well-documented, but since winning her second major title, the expectation for her to perform will now increase exponentially.
It will be interesting to see how she performs under this new scrutiny over the next week or so, particularly given the fitness update she has just given.
Elena Rybakina’s health update after the Australian Open
Speaking to the press in Qatar, Elena Rybakina actually offered a health update of her own after so many of her top-ranked peers had pulled out of this event.
Asked about her fitness following such a gruelling two weeks in Australia, and how she reacted after claiming the title, she admitted: “Of course, we tried to celebrate after the match a little bit with the team. It’s been not much time since the Australian Open, but I had some time to rest. I think it’s good for me to start here, to still try to keep the momentum, and hopefully I can play well here.
How many Grand Slam titles does Elena Rybakina win in her career?
“It was a long tournament in Australia, a lot of matches, and of course, a lot of emotions after. But I think we get used to this kind of schedule. We are from one tournament to go to play almost straight away another one, so it’s a bit tricky.
“I had a cold, so I had to really rest a couple days and didn’t do much. But now, as I said, it’s a good momentum to try to keep going. Hopefully, this week is going to be as good in Australia, but if not, we have so many tournaments ahead, and there are big ones.”
Elena Rybakina could win another big title with the weakened Qatar Open field
It might come as a surprise to see Rybakina playing in Qatar, given what she had just achieved in Melbourne.
After all, the Australian Open marked just her second career title, and yet she seemingly had little time to celebrate before she was on a plane over to Qatar.
Perhaps the 26-year-old has seen the ravaged state of the field and spotted a huge opportunity to continue her fine form.
Who will be ranked higher by the end of 2026 – Elena Rybakina or Aryna Sabalenka?
Losing injury-prone stars like Barbora Krejcíkova and Paula Badosa certainly hurts the general strength of the draw, but it is the absence of the world’s top-ranked players that will truly interest Rybakina.
Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula and Naomi Osaka have all also withdrawn, leaving a huge power vacuum for someone like her, Iga Swiatek or defending champion Amanda Anisimova to fill.
Fresh from a hard-court Grand Slam triumph, it’d be unwise to bet against Rybakina winning again here in Qatar.
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