"She's going to make 10 Grand Slam finals" - Rybakina predicted big future by Wilander
WTA
Over the past six months, Elena Rybakina proved that she's one of the most dangerous players on the WTA Tour and many predict her a great future.
The 23-year-old Kazakhstani player can win her second Grand Slam title in a short period, and she's also projected to enter the Top 10 for the first time in her career.
Moreover, if points from her Wimbledon triumph were included, Rybakina would be women's World No. 2. Those points are not part of her total since the Wimbledon Championships in 2022 were stripped of points by the ATP and the WTA after banning Russian and Belarusian players.
Although that bothered Rybakina at times, she can now forget it, as she is very close to winning another major. The 2022 Wimbledon champion started showing her qualities already in 2020 when her rise was halted by a weaker form.
But now, nothing can stop Rybaking from entering the Top 10 and potentially winning her second major. According to Mats Wilander, who spoke to Eurosport, she can achieve even more in the future.
"It's huge now and in five years, it's not huge because she's going to make 10 Grand Slam finals with that kind of game and personality. I mean, she's excited of course, but she's calm and mellow in that whole match and the situation that was at Wimbledon. I think she's just starting out."
In the semi-final, Rybakina bested two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka. In the final, on the other hand, she will play against Azarenka's compatriot, Aryna Sabalenka, who will experience her first major final.
The former Swedish player was excited about Rybakina's performances, but he emphasized that winning the tournament is more important than her semi-final victory.
"I love it. The tournament is not over, it's a semifinal and you feel early on that maybe excited. No, because the goal is to win the tournament and the goal is to win many more of these."
