Aryna Sabalenka sent ‘difficult’ warning by Elena Rybakina ahead of WTA Finals showdown
Elena Rybakina has declared she wants to enjoy her match with Aryna Sabalenka at the 2024 WTA Finals and make it “difficult” for the Belarusian.
The Kazakh star was beaten 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-1 by world No 7 Zheng Qinwen in her second round robin match at the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Monday.
Rybakina fought back from a 1-4 deficit before losing the opening set on a tiebreak and she recovered from a break down to win the second set. In the deciding set, Rybakina was broken twice by her 22-year-old Chinese opponent.
The world No 5 will not progress to the semi-final stage as she also lost her first round robin match to Jasmine Paolini.
In her third and final match, Rybakina will face world No 1 Sabalenka, who has already qualified for the last four after straight-set wins over Zheng and Paolini. The winner of the contest between Zheng and Paolini will join Sabalenka in the semi-finals.
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Following her defeat to Zheng, Rybakina was positive about her performance despite the defeat ending her qualification hopes.
“Yeah, today was a longer match and I think I had some chances also in the first set,” the 25-year-old said in a post-match interview.
“I was always down but then in the tiebreak, just a couple of better points and then it would’ve been easier, but overall I played again from beginning till the end this tough match, three sets.
“Not the result I wanted of course and definitely in the third set, physically I was already very tired and didn’t feel the greatest, but overall it’s a good one for me.”
The 2022 Wimbledon champion also outlined her intention to provide a stern test for Sabalenka.
“She’s been playing really well this year and she has a lot of confidence and it’s going to be a difficult one definitely,” Rybakina added.
“But I feel that even today I played better than the last match, so hopefully against her I can try to push myself a little bit more and we see how it goes. She’s No 1 now, so I want to enjoy and make it a bit difficult for her too.”
Prior to the WTA Finals, Rybakina had not played since the US Open over two months earlier as she took a break to recover after a season plagued by health issues.
