Elena Rybakina finished the 2025 campaign with a flourish by qualifying for the WTA Finals and going all the way to lift the title.
Rybakina left Aryna Sabalenka extremely frustrated in the final of the event, and she caused quite a stir by comfortably beating the world number one in straight sets.
Rybakina has won Wimbledon in the past, so the fact she’s gone all the way and won the WTA Finals shouldn’t be surprising, but her 2025 has been underwhelming up until the Asian swing.
Kazakhstani performer Rybakina was in shock after beating Sabalenka, and now she’s been told how she can keep stunning the world number one when the WTA Tour gets back underway next year.
Elena Rybakina told how she really hurts Aryna Sabalenka
Rybakina will be eager to get 2026 underway, and with the Australian Open being the first Grand Slam, she will fancy her chances of a good run.
Nick Monroe is a former US Open quarterfinalist in the doubles, and he believes that Rybakina has one tool in her armoury that can hurt Sabalenka should they play each other again in the future.
He told the Inside In podcast: “I think when you have that confidence of having won a major before and now having your coach back, it’s like okay, in these situations I know what to do, and I think in these situations it was able to calm her down, and although there is stress in terms of needing to win, it was a bit like, what stress?
“Obviously, with her game, she’s such a great spot server; her first strike tennis off the forehand is amazing. I was watching some of the highlights last night of when she played Sabalenka in the finals, and she was the one kind of out-hitting Sabalenka off the first or second ball, and you’re just sitting there thinking that nobody else can do that, nobody else on the tour can do that and because she has that confidence now.
“She’s been working on her body a bit more and trying to stay physically fit, and that’s just as important.”
Rybakina can add to Wimbledon title in 2026
Given that Rybakina is now 26, it’s perhaps a surprise that she’s stuck on one Grand Slam title and with her serve as devastating as it is, she should have won more.
Now, however, she has served the WTA Tour notice that she’s back on the charge and being the world number five should put her in good shape for getting decent draws in the early stages of Grand Slam events.
Sabalenka is very much the consistent figure on the tour when it comes to reaching the business stages of tournaments, and she will want retribution on Rybakina.
However, the new world number five has offered a blueprint to the other players on how to beat Sabalenka and now it will be fascinating to see what will happen next year when the season gets back underway.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
