How Elena Rybakina Fought To Become The Wimbledon 2022 Ladies’ Singles Champion

I doubt anyone had expected Elena Rybakina to win Wimbledon 2022, including herself. Looking at her scores below, she beat her opponents in straight sets in the first 4 rounds, even though the scores were neck-to-neck.

On the road to the finals, she beat 2 former Grand Slam Champions - 2019 Wimbledon Champion Simona Halep and 2019 US Open Champion Bianca Andreescu. No easy feat. 

Source: skysports-elena-rybakina-wimbledon_5828929.jpg

Her Opponents and Results

1st Round Elena Rybakina d. Coco Vandeweghe (7-6, 7-5)

2nd Round Elena Rybakina d. Bianca Andreescu (6-4, 7-6)

3rd Round Elena Rybakina d. Zheng Qinwen (7-6, 7-5)

Round of 16 Elena Rybakina d. Petra Martic (7-5, 6-3)

Quarter-final Elena Rybakina d. Alja Tomljanovic (4-6, 6-2, 6-3)

Semi-final Elena Rybakina d. Simona Halep (6-3, 6-3)

Final Elena Rybakina d. Ons Jabeur (3-6, 6-2, 6-2)

Her current WTA ranking is 63; a pity ranking points were not awarded in Wimbledon this year, otherwise she would have climbed to the Top 10 with 2,000 more points.

What was her trump card then?

Her Height

Elena stands at 184cm and towers above most WTA players. For comparison, Serena Williams is 175cm and Ons Jabeur is 167cm. In general, being tall is already an advantage in most sports, such as ball sports and racquet sports. Her flat shots can ricochet pass the net and off the (grass) court easily, making it almost impossible for the opponent to sprint to the ball in time if executed well. This brings us to her next plus point.

Her Serve

Being taller makes her serve more efficient because of the height that she can reach. Elena executed a whopping 53 aces in Wimbledon. Accuracy and speed can be a lethal combination.

Emotionless, Almost

I have never seen such a calm player, especially when he/she wins the Championship Point. Did you see her reaction the moment she won the championship point? Most players would collapse to the ground in relief, kneel, or dive on to the green green grass, smile or cry, but all she did was a fist pump with a slight grin, nothing more. Many players engage in self-talk during the match, show frustrations, or might even smash their rackets. Elena was very composed. 

Luck

You cannot deny that luck does help in a way. Look at the draw - no big names, no Iga Swiatek; probably only Simona Halep posed any real threat. Her route to the Finals was pretty smooth.

Compared to winning other WTA titles, winning a Grand Slam makes a whole lot of difference. Elena is and will be in the spotlight for years to come. There will be expectations of this young Kazakhstani to shine, just like how the tennis world was (and still is) focusing on Emma Raducanu after she won last year’s US Open.