A Slam four years in the making – Rybakina’s return to top

Almost four years have passed since Elena Rybakina celebrated winning Wimbledon by humbly raising her right arm in the air.

“Maybe one day you will see huge reaction from me,” she told the crowd that day.

But that is not the understated 26-year-old’s style.

After ending her wait for another Grand Slam trophy with victory at the Australian Open, the Kazakh simply clenched a raised fist and briefly shook her head in a mixture of relief and disbelief.

But her return to the level that took her to her breakthrough success hinted that she may now, at last, be ready to consistently create those moments worthy of big celebrations.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka and second-ranked Iga Swiatek have established themselves as the dominant players on the women’s tour over recent years, winning eight of the 13 slams since Rybakina’s Wimbledon triumph.

But Rybakina demonstrated her potential to bridge the gap by beating Sabalenka 6-4 4-6 6-4 in Saturday’s Melbourne showpiece, having also overpowered Swiatek and sixth seed Jessica Pegula on her way to the title.

“I always believed I can come back to the level I was [but] we all have ups and downs,” Rybakina said.

“I thought maybe I will never again be in the final, or even get a trophy.

“But we’ve been putting in a lot of work as a team and in the moments when I was not that positive they would be helping out.

Victory takes Rybakina back to third in the world rankings – a career-high position she last occupied in September 2024.

She has won her past 10 matches against fellow top-10 players, after becoming the first player since 2019 to claim the Melbourne title by defeating top-10 players in each round from the quarter-finals onwards.

That is in addition to owning the highest winning percentage against reigning world number ones (minimum 10 meetings) since the WTA rankings were first published in 1975, winning 60.0% of those encounters.

“When Rybakina is fit and on fire she is untouchable,” British former player Annabel Croft said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Her ball-striking quality is so pure and her shots just sound different because of the way they come out of the strings.

“The depth she creates on the court, with her low and flat strikes, is fantastic.

Moscow-born Rybakina did not focus on becoming a professional tennis player until she was 17.

A keen gymnast and ice skater as a child, she was told she would not succeed in those sports because of her height.

She has represented Kazakhstan since 2018 after the nation’s tennis federation made an offer to financially support her

Despite her relatively late arrival in the sport, Rybakina won her first WTA Tour title in Bucharest in 2019 before reaching four finals in her first five events in an astonishing start to 2020.

She reached her first major quarter-final at the 2021 French Open but would not return to that stage at a Grand Slam until her Wimbledon title run the following year.

The start of Rybakina’s 2025 season was disrupted when her coach Stefano Vukov was banned for breaching the WTA’s Code of Conduct. The Croat denied any wrongdoing and was reinstated later that year.

She has since reemerged as the form player on the women’s tour, amassing the most wins of any player since the end of Wimbledon last year (38) and losing just once in her past 21 matches.

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said the grass-court major is an “obvious one for her [to target]” this year.

“Could she grab two Grand Slams in a year? Yes – and that will certainly edge her more towards the number one ranking in the world,” Cash said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“She will need to stay fit, healthy and focused if she is to challenge. Maybe this second Grand Slam will motivate her to keep pushing on.