ElenaRybakina

Elena Rybakina is a Russian-born Kazakhstani and began her interest in sports at a young age. By the age of 5, her father suggested she pick up tennis to take advantage of her height. Rybakina attended the Spartak Tennis Club, where she trained under several prominent coaches including former top-10 player Andrey Chesnokov. She joined the ITF circuit in November 2013, winning her first title at the Grade-3 Almetievsk Cup in March 2014. By the time she finished her last junior tour in 2017, Rybakina peaked at No.3 in the junior circuit. She made her WTA debut in 2017 at the Kremlin Cup, then later in 2018 attained Kazakhstani citizenship and thus began representing Kazakhstan. Elena made her Grand Slam debut at the 2019 French Open and finished the season strong, breaking into the top 50 and closing out at No.37, earning a nomination for the 2019 WTA Newcomer of the Year Award. Her solid performances throughout 2020 and 2021 helped her make history, becoming the first Kazakhstani player to break into the Top 20 and later the Top 15. In 2022, Rybakina once again made history for Kazakhstan by being the first Kazakhstani to reach a Grand Slam semifinal in Wimbledon, later winning that title to also become the first Kazakhstani Grand Slam champion. Elena Rybakina uses her height to great advantage, generating powerful serves and groundstrokes to play an aggressive game and close out points quickly. Her serves can reach 122 mph and scores many aces, leading the tour in ace counts in 2020 with 192 aces throughout that year.