It’s been almost four years since Elena Rybakina quietly celebrated her Wimbledon victory, simply raising her right arm.
“Maybe one day you’ll see a bigger reaction from me,” she told the crowd back then.
That modesty has always been part of her style.
After finally ending her wait for another Grand Slam at the Australian Open, the 26-year-old Kazakh raised a fist and shook her head briefly, a mix of relief and disbelief. Her return to the form that first brought her success suggests she might finally be ready to deliver those unforgettable, big-moment celebrations. In recent years, world number one Aryna Sabalenka and second-ranked Iga Swiatek have dominated the women’s tour, winning eight of the 13 Grand Slams since Rybakina’s Wimbledon triumph. But Rybakina proved she can match them, defeating Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the Melbourne final, after also taking down Swiatek and sixth seed Jessica Pegula on her path to the title.
“I always believed I could get back to the level I was at, but everyone has ups and downs,” Rybakina said.
“I thought maybe I’d never reach a final again or even win another trophy. But we’ve been working hard as a team, and when I doubted myself, they kept pushing me forward.
“Big wins against top players make you believe in yourself and give you confidence.”
Will This Win Make Rybakina ‘Untouchable’?
Elena Rybakina’s victory has lifted her back to third in the world rankings a career-high she last held in September 2024.
She has now won her last 10 matches against fellow top 10 players. She also became the first player since 2019 to win the Melbourne title by beating top-10 opponents in every round from the quarter finals onwards.
Rybakina also holds the highest winning percentage against reigning world number ones, with at least 10 matches played, winning 60 percent of those encounters since the WTA rankings began in 1975.
“When Rybakina is fit and on fire she is untouchable,” said British former player Annabel Croft on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Her ball-striking is so pure and her shots sound different because of the way they come off the strings.
Elena Rybakina, born in Moscow, did not focus on tennis seriously until she was 17. As a child she enjoyed gymnastics and ice skating but was told her height would hold her back in those sports. She has represented Kazakhstan since 2018 after the country’s tennis federation offered to support her financially. Even with a late start Rybakina won her first WTA Tour title in Bucharest in 2019 and reached four finals in her first five events in a remarkable start to 2020. She made her first Grand Slam quarter-final at the 2021 French Open but did not reach that stage again until her Wimbledon title run the following year.
Her three set loss to Sabalenka at the 2023 Australian Open remained her only major final for a time, but three years later she made her mark once again.
