Elena Rybakina missed out on a new career high when she won Wimbledon due to the event not awarding points but she got it after the Italian Open.
Elena Rybakina emerged as one of the best players in the world this year and she certainly proved that at the Italian Open winning the event. It wasn't the perfect celebration because the win did come after retirement but nonetheless, it was further proof that the Kazakh player's Wimbledon triumph last year was not a fluke.
It's the second Master's trophy she won this year and the 3rd final she played after Indian Wells and Miami, the latter was a loss against Kvitova. Her previous career-high came after Indian Wells and it was number 7 on the rankings. On Monday, May 22nd, Rybakina reached a new career high - number four in the world.
She would have been ranked higher if her Wimbledon triumph a few years ago counted but it didn't due to the ban on Russian and Belarussian players. Her tally right now stands at 5090 points, a bit more than Caroline Garcia at number 5 who has 5025.
Shes' trailing Jessica Pegula about 100 points so she's in striking distance to possibly move up to number 3 with a good result in Paris. Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are a bit further ahead (check out the full rankings here on our dedicated rankings page).
The recent form makes Rybakina one of the favourites to win Roland Garros though the field is deep and last year's event proved that anything can happen. Iga Swiatek is the number one favourite winning the event last year but players like Sabalenka and Rybakina certainly are a threat to her. It's not something she's concerned with but history tells us otherwise.
There will be other players like Gauff who made the final last year.
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