In the Open era, only two women have a better record on Wimbledon grass than Elena Rybakina.
With a win percentage exceeding 90%, she is surpassed only by Steffi Graf and Ann Jones. Given the surprising upsets among the top seeds, many consider her the frontrunner for the title on Saturday.
The Moscow-born athlete, who now represents Kazakhstan, tends to stay out of the spotlight, much like she did during her first Wimbledon victory in 2022.
Regarding the growing favoritism, which was further fueled by her dominant performance against Elina Svitolina, she commented, “I don’t really like it, to be honest.”
It’s tough to overlook the 25-year-old as a strong contender for the title, but not long ago, her Wimbledon hopes seemed at risk before they even started.
Her preparations for the tournament were rocky, with her two warm-up events in Berlin and Eastbourne ending in retirement due to stomach pain and then a withdrawal from another.
Despite the lack of grass-court match experience, she has performed remarkably, losing only one set so far.
“When I first played on grass, I didn’t feel comfortable,” Rybakina admitted. “But my coach said, ‘You were born for this, you just need to keep going.’”
Regarding the possibility of winning a second Wimbledon title, she said, “This is something I want to achieve. I’m trying to maintain this mindset.”
Her opponent in the second semifinal on Thursday, Barbora Krejcikova, has had a tough year. Between the Australian Open and the grass-court season, the Czech player won only one match out of eight tournaments, often due to illness or losses.
Having seemingly overcome her difficulties, Krejcikova remarked, “It was super-difficult with all the illnesses I had, but I’m proud I never gave up.”
Now, she faces the challenge of defeating Rybakina. “She’s a great player,” Krejcikova said. “It’s going to be a big fight.”
