The extreme nervous tension. The adrenalin. Elena Rybakina felt it all as she stood at the baseline on match point, relying on one of the best tools at her disposal to clinch the Australian Open title.
“Even maybe (my) face didn’t show, but inside it was a lot of emotions,” Rybakina recalled of that ace, cooly and matter-of-factly served, that gave top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka no chance of extending the contest.
The 26-year-old Rybakina clearly isn’t one for euphoric, jubilant celebrations, as tennis rivals and observers noted in her run to the Wimbledon title in 2022.
After ending any lingering doubts that she’d ever be able to add another major title with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win Saturday over the world No. 1, her reserved and understated reaction was again a defining feature.
Expect to see more of it — the winning part, not demonstrative celebrations. It’s her secret to success.
Within three months, she has won the WTA Finals, beating Sabalenka to collect a record $5.2 million in prize money, and, more importantly in tennis terms, added another of the sport’s four most treasured trophies.
The No. 5 seed has shrugged off any doubt that she’s a top contender for the biggest titles with a run that included second-week victories over No. 1 Sabalenka, a four-time major winner and four-time runner-up, No. 2 Iga Świątek, a six-time major winner, and No. 6-ranked Jessica Pegula.
“Of course, they’re tough opponents, and they have great results, and for so long they are at the top and its stable,” she said. “Yeah, it’s a lot of tough matches I had here — I’m glad that the opportunities which I was getting during the match, I managed to take it.”
She’ll return to No. 3 in the rankings next week.
By JOHN PYE
