Has Elena Rybakina got the recipe for Wimbledon glory?

Elena Rybakina with the Wimbledon title
Elena Rybakina with the Wimbledon title

Elena Rybakina believes that her serve will be the key to her going all the way at Wimbledon again in 2024.

Rybakina felt that her delivery was on point when it mattered in her semi-final win over Elina Svitolina even if her accuracy dipped a little in comparison with previous rounds.

The world No 4 needed just 61 minutes to down last year’s semifinalist Svitolina and reach the third Grand Slam semifinal of her career.

She asserts that a positive approach on the court and positive mindset have helped her back up her serve and she is revelling in the great tennis that she has been able to produce at Wimbledon.

“I think [the key was] staying really aggressive from the first shots,” Rybakina said, after her win.

“Definitely I think my return improved. The serve is helping me, even though today maybe not as high percentage. But in important moments, I served it out.

“Of course [winning a second Wimbledon title] is something I want to achieve, I want to do again. It’s getting closer, but still there is two matches, tough opponents left. Again, it’s just match by match. For now it was working well, so I’m trying to continue with this mentality.”

Rybakina is currently a fantastic 19-2 in main draw matches at Wimbledon. In her main draw debut in 2021, she made it to the Round of 16, and the following year, she defeated Ons Jabeur to win the title. Jabeur exacted revenge on Rybakina in the quarterfinals of last year, ending her championship defence but ultimately failing to go all the way herself as she suffered another tearful finals loss.

In the Open Era (since 1968), Rybakina presently holds the third-best winning percentage at Wimbledon with her 90.4 percent victory record at the grass-court Grand Slam. The only two players with higher winning percentages at the event are the retired champions Stefanie Graf (74-7, 91.4 percent) and Ann Jones (12-1, 92.3 percent).

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Rybakina is the fourth player in the Open Era to win 19 of their first 21 Wimbledon singles matches, behind Maria Sharapova, Billie Jean King, and Chris Evert. Only these four women have managed 19 wins in their first 21 matches at Wimbledon.

To reach another final, Rybakina will need to get the better of a player who holds a 2-0 record over her on the WTA Tour in Barbora Krejcikova.

Barbora Krejcikova had Jelena Ostapenko’s number in their quarter-final showdown and progressed in straight sets.