New York (AFP) – Elena Rybakina is on top of the tennis world, celebrating her first US Open title and her rise to number one barely more than three weeks after she feared injury would force her out of the final Grand Slam of the year. Kazakhstan’s Rybakina beat two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on Saturday to claim her third Grand Slam title. She’d already assured herself of toppling Sabalenka from the number one spot just by reaching the semi-finals.
“I can’t find words right now, honestly,” Rybakina said. “I don’t expect nothing like this coming to this tournament. I’ve been dealing with a little bit with an injury, but somehow everything aligned together on my side.” The “little bit of an injury” saw Rybakina hobble out of her Cincinnati quarter-final on August 20 — 10 days before the start of the US Open — unable to put weight on her left heel.
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“It wasn’t the best time, for sure, because I was so upset,” Rybakina said. “I didn’t know actually how it’s going to be day by day. We arrive to New York. We did MRI. It didn’t look that great. We had to talk with a lot of doctors to get opinion what we should do.”
With a doctor in Australia providing valuable long-distance advice, Rybakina and her team came up with a plan to manage her training, rest and treatment and give her a chance at her second major title of the year, after her victory over Sabalenka at the Australian Open. Her run to the final included an impressive fourth-round victory over two-time champion Naomi Osaka before come-from-behind wins over resurgent Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen and former champion Coco Gauff.
It all led to her 18th showdown with Sabalenka in a rivalry that has emerged as the most dynamic on the WTA tour. Having narrowed Sabalenka’s lead in their head-to-head to 10-8, Rybakina is looking forward to more chances to take on her fiery rival, whose on-court personality is the perfect foil to her own cool approach.
“I don’t know what the future will bring, but it’s always very difficult matches against Aryna,” she said. “I feel like we push each other to be better after such tough battles.” The two seem destined to tussle for the top spot for some time. But other players — Gauff and Jessica Pegula — also had a chance to seize the number one ranking in New York, so Rybakina knows that Sabalenka is not the only rival she must be wary of. She embraces the challenge.
“I feel like not only with her, with also other players, top players, you always want to try something new, to change in your game, to be better,” she said. “I don’t know what future is going to bring, but I hope success and some more wins.”
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