Tennis
Elena Rybakina: The magic of the restart
The Kazakh tennis star feels good about the season ahead of her. Already ranked among the top 10 players in the world, the Wimbledon champ is ready to keep moving up.
When tennis professionals travel to the other side of the world at the start of the new season to play for world ranking points again for the first time, there is a bit of the magic of a restart in the air. This also has something to do with the weather. In Europe, it's the depths of winter; in Australia, it's the height of summer. Most of the time, the sun shines, and the sky is clear. And the distances to the water from the metropolises are very short in Australia. Before things really get going, the now relaxed professionals have time for surfing trips, or they go to a small island and, like Elena Rybakina, take selfies with quokkas, these cute little marsupials from the kangaroo family.
Her latest selfie with a quokka shot on an island near Perth has taken the tennis world by storm. What made this selfie even better was that the always-happy quokka had an even bigger smile on its face than Rybakina. "Hello from Perth. Smile for everyone," she captioned her post. The photo immediately went viral on the internet. The image symbolises the good humour and relaxed attitude of the 25-year-old Kazakh, who is ready to attack again in 2025.
The Australian Open starts for Rybakina on Monday. She will face Emerson Jones in the first round. The draw went well for the 2022 Wimbledon winner, but you never know exactly where you stand after a long break. Nevertheless, you have a feeling. And it's a positive one. At the United Cup in Perth, the dress rehearsal for the Australian Open, she and her team-mates reached the semi-finals. There, she fought against Iga Swiatek, the world number two, and lost in two hard-fought sets. It is precisely these matches that she needs to regain the necessary competitive toughness.
Rybakina obviously benefited from the break after a long and energy-sapping 2024 season. Did she do anything differently than usual?
The break was longer than usual for her. She didn't play for nearly two months, which was a positive experience for her. "I didn't do this for the last five or six years when I only had a maximum of two weeks off. So also, after many injuries, I had the chance to fully recharge my batteries. It helped a lot. I didn't miss the travelling at all. Instead I had time to see family and friends and also spend time with my dogs. I did some wakeboarding, too. And I finally took some driving lessons. I hopefully will get my license by the end of this year," comments Elena with a smile on her time during the off-season.
Elena Rybakina is currently ranked sixth in the world
© Mihai Stetcu/Red Bull Content Pool
Of course, the Kazakh was also out and about on the court and practised hard. However, the focus was always on recovery after the many injuries and ailments in 2024. Rybakina knows how important this aspect is. A healthy body is the key to a successful new season. In this respect, the prospects are good.
During the off-season, it's important to regain physical strength
"We were working a little bit on everything on the court. During the off-season, it's important to regain physical strength. I tried to get back in shape physically. And I'm feeling really good now," says the world number six.
There are tennis pros who work on certain aspects of their style of play in the off-season, who also change things around in order to expand their own repertoire. Rybakina is a so-called ‘all-around’ player. She feels at home on all surfaces and masters all strokes almost to perfection.
Still, she has also found something that she has been working on in preparation for the new season: "I know how to play kind of everything on court. But some strokes I don't use that often, for example, the backhand slice when in a defending position. I practised a lot on this. This is something I will definitely use more often during my matches."
Elena Rybakina is already a Wimbledon champion
© Red Bull Content Pool
More on the tennis star
For Rybakina, the start of this new season also means a new member of her coaching staff. Goran Ivanisevic, a former Wimbledon winner and long-time coach of Novak Djokovic, is now at her side. The results of their collaboration so far have been positive.
"We have been working with Goran for a month now," says Rybakina. "We went to the Unite Cup together, and we did a good job. One thing is clear: we are still getting used to each other. We will see how it is going to go, but for now, it's been quite good."
And now Melbourne, Australian Open, is the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Rybakina will probably not see many more quokkas for the time being. Her place of longing is the Rod Laver Arena, where the women's final will take place on January 25. Elena has already reached the final of the Australian Open in 2023. She lost in three sets in a thrilling final against the current number one in the women's world rankings, Aryna Sabalenka. There may be another chance for her to play a good tournament in 2025 - the magic of a fresh start could help her.