Elena Rybakina(2)

2024: Three WTA 500 titles

Elena Rybakina started her 2024 season by winning Brisbane International final against Aryna Sabalenka, following up with another title at the Abu Dhabi Open, winning in two sets against Daria Kasatkina.[citation needed]

Rybakina also reached the final in both Qatar and Miami, on both occasions however she missed out on victory. First to Polish World number one Iga Świątek, then American Danielle Collins. Rybakina also had to withdraw from her quarter final in Dubai and then did not attempt to defend her title in Indian Wells due to gastrointestinal issues. She returned in Miami.

Rybakina reached a fifth final of the season, beating 2 time defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, and clinched her third title of 2024 in Stuttgart, beating Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in straight sets.

Playing style

With a powerful serve, Rybakina is an aggressive baseliner who aims to finish points quickly, and whose high risk game style leads to an accumulation of both winners and unforced errors. She can generate effortless power, both on groundstrokes and her serve.[88][89] Her forehand and backhand are both hit flat, with relentless depth and speed, allowing her to generate excellent power with both her groundstrokes, and she can hit winners with both shots.[90] Her powerful serve, which is capable of reaching 127 mph (204 km/h),[49] allows her to serve a large number of aces, and she led the tour in the ace count in 2020, serving 192 aces throughout the year.[91] Due to her doubles experience, Rybakina aims to finish points at the net, and is a capable volleyer. She also has good movement given her height, although this is one of the few weak areas in her game.[92] Adriano Albanesi, a WTA coach, described her as "a right-handed [Petra] Kvitová".[93] Rybakina plays with a very calm demeanor, and believes she can defeat any opponent.[32][89][94] Early in her WTA career, she has excelled at three-set matches, winning 13 out of 14 from September 2019 through February 2020.[92] Her tennis idol is Roger Federer.

Coaches

Rybakina hired Andrei Chesnokov, whom she had already trained with at Spartak Tennis Club, to be her private coach in 2018 at the age of 18. This was the first time she had an individual coach. Chesnokov only coached in Moscow and did not travel with her to tournaments.[2][4] In February 2019, Rybakina switched coaches to Stefano Vukov, a Croatian former tennis player who briefly competed mainly on the ITF Futures tour.[7][96] With Vukov as her first travelling coach, Rybakina rapidly improved, rising from just inside the top 200 of the WTA rankings into the top 30 in about a year.

Endorsements

Rybakina has been sponsored by Yonex for clothing and shoes since the 2023 French Open.[97] She had previously been endorsed by Adidas from the start of 2020, and by Nike.[98] She uses a Yonex VCore 100 racket.[99]

On 24 January 2023, Rybakina began to cooperate with the Kazakhstan Bank RBK.[100]

In March 2023, Rybakina donated ₸35 million to rising female tennis players in Kazakhstan