Few expected the 23-year-old to demolish the field at Wimbledon. But she did exactly that, serving notice of her ambitions on the big stage. How did she manage it and what’s next for her?
Few expected the 23-year-old to demolish the field at Wimbledon. But she did exactly that, serving notice of her ambitions on the big stage. How did she manage it and what’s next for her?
On the surface, there was little about Elena Rybakina’s statistical past that suggested she would have the tournament she had at Wimbledon.
The 23-year-old had won just two of the 61 events she had entered, with a 2-6 win-loss record in finals. She had yet to claim a WTA 1000 title — the quality of the playing field at such events ensures that success there is a reasonable indicator of the potential to do well at a Major.
Before Wimbledon, Rybakina was 17-11 in Grand Slam matches and 11-6 on grass — win-rates ranging from 60-65% aren’t to be disdained, but they do not belong in the elite bracket. Moreover, she had struggled in the build-up to the Major, winning just one of three grass-court matches.
So, it was no surprise that the bookmakers didn’t think highly of her odds of going all the way. They had her as a 100-1 outsider before the tournament got underway.
When she did triumph, the World No. 23 became the second-lowest-ranked women’s champion at the grass-court event in the professional era, which began in 1968. In this time, just one woman ranked lower than Rybakina has won Wimbledon — Venus Williams in 2007 at No. 31, although she had been No. 1 and already won three of her five career Wimbledon trophies.
“I did not expect to be in the second week of a Grand Slam at Wimbledon,” Rybakina admitted, suggesting that those who had predicted her chances, based on analytical measures of her record until then, had not differed significantly from her own expectations.
But if you had dug a little deeper into her statistical past and subjected her style of play to the ‘eye test’, there were signals that she could be dangerous, especially on faster courts.
Rybakina has a winning record (7-6) against players who have been ranked No. 1. She also has victories over Major winners, including Serena Williams, Garbine Muguruza, Sofia Kenin and Simona Halep — she added Bianca Andreescu to the list and beat Halep again, at Wimbledon.
Dictating play
Given Rybakina’s playing style, the match is often on her racquet. She has ‘the big game’, with access to…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hindu – Tennis…