Elena Rybakina says how she finds Taylor Fritz as a doubles partner as they pair together at Indian Wells

Follow us on Google Discover

Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz continue to find success together as a doubles pairing.

Rybakina and Fritz won the Eisenhower Cup exhibition at Indian Wells last year, and decided to reunite their partnership in California once again.

They combined again to beat Jasmine Paolini and Matteo Berrettini, Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, before concluding with a victory over Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien to win the $200,000 prize.

Before they even stepped on to court together, Rybakina spoke about her relationship with Fritz and how she felt about playing doubles with him again.

Elena Rybakina reveals the advice Taylor Fritz gives her when they play doubles together

In her pre-tournament press conference at Indian Wells, Australian Open champion Rybakina was asked about playing with Fritz and the tournament being in a 10-point tie-break format.

“I like the format,” said Rybakina. “I think it’s nice to play, first of all, with the guys also, and it’s nice to try also the courts, you know. It’s still a competition, so you want to win.

“I think it’s a cool event. Yeah, last year it was nice, so hopefully we can defend our title (smiling).”

When asked a follow-up question about their chemistry, Rybakina claimed that they have quite similar games, before revealing that Fritz sometimes gives her advice on how to return ATP players’ serves.

“Well, I think just the game style, we both play kind of aggressive, and we have big serves,” responded Rybakina. “Yeah, it’s just generally fun.

“Also, Taylor, he knows, of course, guys, so he will give me some advice on the return, which is like really difficult to return guys’ serves.

“So yeah, it’s just fun competition. Yeah, hopefully, as I said, we can defend our title.”

Rybakina was actually the returner on the final point of the event, getting Tien’s serve back in play before Fritz finished off the rally with a winning volley.

Should there be a fifth Grand Slam?

If so, which tournament would it be?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

What happened to Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz in US Open mixed doubles last year?

Although Rybakina and Fritz are still unbeaten in the Eisenhower Cup, they did not quite fare as well in the US Open mixed doubles event.

As they attempted to continue their momentum from Indian Wells in New York last year, Fritz and Rybakina lost in the first round.

However, they were beaten in the first round by Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who won the US Open mixed doubles title.

It is unclear as to whether Rybakina and Fritz plan to play together again at the US Open later this year, but they would be expected to do a lot better than their disappointing result in 2025.

Both players will now switch their attention to the Indian Wells singles draw, with Rybakina and Fritz both defending champions in California.