Six months ago, Elena Rybakina stood timidly on Centre Court after she had achieved one of her dreams and imagined what more was to come. Her Wimbledon title was one of the ultimate achievements of her profession, but it told little about what would happen next. As players have struggled hard to follow up their first victories in recent years, one thing has been clear: winning even one major is hard.
It has not taken her long to show she will be a constant factor at the top. Rybakina took another enormous step forward in her career on Thursday by reaching her second grand slam final.
In a nervy, bruising tussle against a third consecutive grand slam champion, Rybakina, the 22nd seed, managed the pressure of the most important moments and outplayed Victoria Azarenka, the 24th seed, 7-6 (4), 6-3 to reach the Australian Open final for the first time. She will meet Aryna Sabalenka, who swatted aside Magda Linette 7-6 (1), 6-2 to reach her first slam final.
As the pair emerged on Rod Laver Arena on a cool night in slower conditions, all eyes were on their most important shots. While Rybakina has established herself as one of the best servers in the world, in her peak years Azarenka was arguably the best returner in the world.
The challenge for them was immediately clear. After Rybakina sent down three aces in a row to secure her first hold, Azarenka landed the first break for 3-2 by deflecting returns off 114mph and 113mph serves to within centimetres of the baseline.
Rybakina commanded the first half of the opening set, striking the ball smoothly, her easy power on show. But Azarenka fought back, using her deep toolbox of shots and industriousness to disrupt Rybakina. She saved set point at 5-3 with a spectacular forehand, down-the-line winner.
By the tie-break both players were tense, but Rybakina adjusted well, remaining solid on the important points and hitting to bigger targets as Azarenka failed to rein in her mistakes. A final forehand error from Azarenka ended the set.
“I was focusing on myself because conditions were completely different,” said Rybakina. “I couldn’t get free points on my serve that easy like during the day when I played the matches. I knew that I need just to adjust. I was doing correct things. It was just a matter to be more focused on these important moments.”
With a set secured, Rybakina visibly relaxed. She broke serve quickly in the second set after a flurry of nervous Azarenka errors and her service quality improved as she focused on precision rather than pace in the slow conditions. The few times Azarenka managed to generate a half-chance, Rybakina slammed the door shut and celebrated with her customary introversion, merely wiping her forehead with her wristband as she moved on.
After winning Wimbledon, Rybakina was tearful as she spoke about her parents, who could not be with her there. She can now afford to bring her mother, father and sister to Australia. “It’s the first time they’re all together here,” the Kazakh said. “I’m super happy that we can spend evenings together and they can watch me live.”
In the final months of last year, Rybakina vented her frustration when her life did not change nearly as much as she expected. She received no respect with court assignments and her low seeding, still outside the top 20 because of the lack of points on offer at Wimbledon, meant she received far more difficult draws than a reigning grand slam champion would otherwise get.
The shift in her mentality has been clear throughout this tournament. She no longer cares. If she was capable of winning Wimbledon, she is also capable of dominating anyone across the net. The consequence of that shift has been evident in a run to the final that has been even more impressive than her first. It has further helped that, with her greater experience, she has found things easier than last year. This time she was able to focus on what she needed to do to win instead of worrying about what could happen. “Everything was new at Wimbledon. Now I more or less understand what to expect,” she said.
Rybakina followed her tough third-round win over last year’s finalist, Danielle Collins, by usurping the world No 1, Iga Swiatek, and then blowing past the former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. Against Azarenka, the 2012 and 2013 Australian Open champion, Rybakina could not summon the level of her previous rounds in the heavy conditions.
No matter, she demonstrated her mental toughness under pressure by adjusting and finding a way through. As she heads to the final weekend to compete for her second grand slam title, she has made it clear she expects to be here for years to come.
