Elena Rybakina still has some things that she needs to improve according to Martina Navratilova.
Rybakina won the Ningbo Open last week, meaning that she needed just two wins to overtake Mirra Andreeva and take the last slot for the WTA Finals.
The former Wimbledon champion was able to do that at the Tokyo Open, with Rybakina beating Victoria Mboko to confirm her third consecutive qualification to the year-end tournament.
After achieving this goal, Rybakina was criticised for withdrawing from her Tokyo semifinal and now Navratilova has given her some advice.
Martina Navratilova offers advice to Elena Rybakina as to how she can improve
Rybakina is often praised for her powerful serve, and Navratilova echoed this sentiment when speaking to the WTATour.com.
However, Navratilova also suggested that she thinks Rybakina can still get more out of herself, and advised her to use more variety in terms of slice and drop shots.
“When she won Wimbledon in 2022, the future looked bright. Her game is beautiful,” said Navratilova. “She has such easy power and she moves well. The serve is a killer. She has all the shots and she’s proven she can win on any surface.
“If I were her, I’d work on the slice more, just to change things up. Mix in more drop shots off both wings so she can knife the ball and keep opponents guessing.
“It’s hard to tell sometimes what she’s thinking on court — she has a serious game face — but with the way she’s been playing in Asia, you can’t count her out. She’s playing as well as she has all season.”
Could Elena Rybakina be a dark horse for the WTA Finals this year?
Rybakina will be making her third consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals this year, but she did not advance past the round-robin stage in either 2023 or 2024.
Navratilova has suggested that she thinks Rybakina could be a dark horse in Riyadh, but she will need to improve her record against the other players in the tournament.
Rybakina does not have a winning head-to-head against any of these players, and has actually lost her last four meetings against Iga Swiatek.
| WTA Finals Participant | Head-to-head vs Elena Rybakina | Most Recent meeting with Elena Rybakina |
| Aryna Sabalenka | 8-5 Sabalenka | Sabalenka beat Rybakina, 6-3 6-3 (Wuhan Open 2025) |
| Iga Swiatek | 6-4 Swiatek | Swiatek beat Rybakina, 7-5 6-3 (Cincinnati Open 2025) |
| Coco Gauff | 1-0 Gauff | Gauff beat Rybakina, 6-4 6(8)-7 7-6(3) (Canadian Open 2022) |
| Amanda Anisimova | 0-0 | Have never played |
| Jessica Pegula | 3-1 Pegula | Pegula beat Rybakina, 7-5 6-2 (WTA Finals 2023) |
| Madison Keys | 3-3 | Rybakina beat Keys, 6(3)-7 6-4 6-2 (Cincinnati Open 2025) |
| Jasmine Paolini | 3-3 | Rybakina beat Paolini, 6-3 6-2 (Ningbo Open 2025) |
The Kazakhstani has actually never even played China Open champion Amanda Anisimova, but there is a 50% chance that they will be drawn into the same group.
Rybakina and the other seven best players from the 2025 season will all compete at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, which will take place from November 1-8.
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