Andy Roddick makes bold prediction about how many Grand Slams Elena Rybakina will win
Elena Rybakina can win ‘five or six’ Grand Slams and end 2026 as the year-end No 1, according to Andy Roddick.
The Kazakh got her season off to the best possible start after defeating Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the final of the Australian Open.
Rybakina will also rise two spots when the rankings are published on Monday, from world No 5 to the third spot.
Roddick, who won the 2003 US Open title, believes that the two-time Grand Slam winner may yet improve further in both her rankings and trophy haul in 2026.
“It seems [Elena] Rybakina is building that consistency with the WTA Finals and now Australia,” said Roddick on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast.
“Is this a moment where she becomes like a runaway freight train and has one of those runs for 18 months that we’ve seen throughout history?
“She’s capable. This is not like an ‘Oh, we’ll see what happens’.
“This is a, Oh, are we building to a five, six-time major winner. I don’t think it’s crazy.
“She’s going to be in the running for number one in the world this year, you can mark this,” he said.
“I don’t say this lightly, Rybakina, if she plays 20 tournaments and is generally healthy, she’s going to be in the conversation.
“I think the French [Open] is going to be her least favourite surface, but she can still play on it. She’s already won Wimbledon.”
Indeed, Rybakina’s victory over Sabalenka closed her head-to-head deficit to just one match, with seven victories compared to eight losses.
In the quarter-finals of her Melbourne run, the Kazakh defeated second seed Iga Swiatek with a relatively comfortable 7-5, 6-1 scoreline.
Just two months prior, Rybakina also beat the Pole 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 at the year-end WTA Finals.
Her highest year-end ranking came in 2024, where she concluded the season as the world No 3.
“Based on the last three years, the conversation is Sabalenka/Swiatek, most consistent, multiple Slams. Coco [Gauff] in that conversation with two Slams,” added Roddick.
“My point was simply that I view Rybakina, when healthy and settled, in that group, easily. She’s not scared to play the big players; she has the temperament to go deep in majors.
“I’ve never seen someone more understated when winning a major. If I had ever won my second major, you would have seen 17 cartwheels.
“I kind of respect it. It’s like scoring a touchdown in the NFL and just handing the ball to the ref with no reaction. It’s kind of cold.
“If she’s in a good place and healthy, she’s in that group.
“And you can argue, she’s the favourite in those matchups a decent amount of the time. She can out-Sabalenka, Sabalenka, she can serve huge and go through the court.”
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During his career, Roddick was best known for his impressive serve speeds, totalling 9074 across his long career.
Overall, the American won nearly 80% of all points and 90% of service games contested on his first-serve.
Given his serving prowess, he also praised Rybakina’s proficiency in this department.
The newly-crowned Australian Open champion matched Sabalenka – who is known as one of the best servers on tour – in the serving department during their latest clash.
Rybakina won 76% of all of her first-serve points, compared to the Belarusian’s 75%.
“I’m going to say this, I don’t want to be hyperbolic, and I guard against it, and I think it’s a legitimate point,” he stated.
“Serena [Williams] is the best female server of all time, and I don’t know that you would find anyone with an IQ bigger than their waist size who disagrees with that.
“And, I think Rybakina is quickly maybe top three or four, ever.
“A couple of things. The ability to hit all four spots, on your serve, so deuce, wide, middle, AD. Also, she gets a lot of kick on her second serve. It’s not as if it’s a big first serve and once you get a second serve you’re eaten, or cooked.
“Lindsay [Davenport], and she would tell you this, she had a great first serve, but loved to hit the slice.
“I think Rybakina maybe hits the corner a little bit easier, and had a kick a little bit more.”
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