Elena Rybakina is not willing to declare that she, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are pulling away from the rest of the WTA competition. Rybakina and Sabalenka, who met in this year’s Australian Open final, also clashed in the Indian Wells final.
Sabalenka won the Australian Open title, while Rybakina got her revenge this past Sunday and won Indian Wells. On the other side, Swiatek has looked a bit shaky at moments in 2023 but she is still without any doubt a very strong force in the game.
“I think that it’s still too early because there are too many tournaments ahead. But for sure the three of us have a really good start to the season and the question is who can maintain this level. For now it’s like this but the season is still long, so we’ll see how it’s going to end,” Rybakina said on the WTA Insider Podcast.
Rybakina hopes to do well during the clay season
Rybakina became a Grand Slam champion after winning last year’s Wimbledon. In early 2023, Rybakina won Indian Wells and finished as runner-up at the Australian Open. Rybakina has proven that she can definitely play extremely well on hard and grass.
Now, Rybakina’s goal is to make strong runs in the biggest clay events. “The start of the season is important because it gives a bit more confidence, but it’s still not easy changes with the surfaces. I believe I can play well on all of them but the question is to be always healthy because if not, it’s impossible.
These little blocks of preparation are really important for me so we try to do our best with the team and hopefully the rest of the season will be the same as now,” Rybakina said. This Monday, Rybakina rose to a career-high ranking of No 7 in the world.
After winning Indian Wells, Rybakina acknowledged that her ultimate goal is to reach the world No 1 spot.
