Elena Rybakina's season ended in the WTA Finals group stage, despite a final victory over Aryna Sabalenka, world No. 1. Enough to cause legitimate frustration in view of his second part of the season, but also to hope for a fiery 2025 season, if the physique holds up.
Certainly, Aryna Sabalenka was already qualified for the semi-finals of the WTA Finals, and certain to finish first in her group. Certainly, we saw at the end of the match that the Belarusian had broken down somewhat and given up on the match. But it was already the sixth victory over a current world No. 1 for Elena Rybakina since the start of his career, all of which took place over the last two seasons.
The Kazakh once again made her mark, with 83% of points won behind her first ball, one of her trump cards on a surface that suits her perfectly. She ended up making the world No. 1 withdraw, thus concluding her season as she had started it, since she had been beaten Trinity 6-3, 6-0 in the final of the first tournament of the season in Brisbane.
On paper? A successful season, with 42 victories for 11 defeats, three tournaments won (all in the WTA 500 category), a few matches which clearly left a mark (his success on Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals in Stuttgart, his extremely narrow defeat against Sabalenka in the semi-final in Madrid), two WTA 1000 finals, a semi-final at Wimbledon, something to rejoice in theory.
But in practice, since this journey in London, his season was almost over. For different reasons. Physical first, since she will have only played 5 matches since Wimbledon, but everything remained very nebulous. During his withdrawal before his second round of the US Open, no physical reason was given.
But there was also the breakup with his trainer, Stefano Vukovwho had been coaching her for 5 years. And who made her what she is. Because when the Croatian arrived alongside her in February 2019, the Kazakhstani was outside the Top 150, having only won a W60. 5 months later, she won her first WTA title in Bucharest, and would finish the year 37th in the world. A dazzling progression.
But while she had had a fantastic start to the 2020 season with 4 finals for a title in the first two months, the Covid came to interrupt her irresistible rise. And it was going to take time for him to reach the heights that were promised to him then. To tell the truth, when she won Wimbledon in 2022 to everyone's surprise, the label of former future eternal hope seemed to stick to her.
But already, a few packages, a few abandonments here and there. Except that since this London coronation (which brought her the trifle of… 0 WTA points, due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict), she is clearly part of the elite. A Grand Slam final at the 2023 Australian Open, 5 finals for two WTA 1000 titles, a constant presence in the Top 10, two successive qualifications for the WTA Finals: she's a leader on the WTA circuit.
But if she has the advantage of having already won a Grand Slam, and therefore of no longer having this weight on her shoulders unlike other Top 10 like Our Jabeur or Jessica Pegulahis season is marked by frustration. This withdrawal from the US Open is the end point of a season where she missed out on a second coronation which was reaching out to her at Wimbledon, lost a pair of matches which could have changed her season, and ended up out of form in WTA Finals in which she could have arrived as favorite on a surface perfect for her.
However, the main news for her is the name of her new trainer: a certain Goran Ivanisevic. The man who made Marin Čilić a Grand Slam winner in the midst of the era of Big Threebefore spending 5 years with Novak Djokovicallowing Absent to add 10 major tournaments to his record, among other things. Separated from the Serb since March, we wondered who he would take care of. An undeniable reinforcement for the Kazakhstani.
Enough for a comeback? Clearly, Elena Rybakina is close to the top, will finish the season 6th in the world at its lowest having hardly played since mid-July. The last steps are the hardest to climb, but with the power ofAryna Sabalenka – to which hers is often compared – it's impossible not to see her shine in 2025. The more high-level rivals there are, the more exciting the women's circuit will be. And she clearly has the makings of a future world No. 1. All that remains is to truly have the level.
