Elena Rybakina delivered one simple but great answer to a question in Rome as the Kazakh noted she likes playing tennis and that winning and defending titles is also something she doesn’t mind at all.
This week, 24-year-old Rybakina returned to a WTA 1000 tournament in Rome as the defending champion. In March, Rybakina was also slated to return to Indian Wells as the defending champion but was forced to miss the tournament due to a gastrointestinal illness.
Rybakina being unable to defend her Indian Wells title was very disappointing for both the Kazakh and the tournament but at least she is healthy and ready for her Rome title defense.
“You haven’t had much of a chance to defend titles because your first couple titles, there was COVID the next year, then Indian Wells this year you were injured. Are you particularly excited about getting the chance to defend this title?” the question read.
Responding to the question, Rybakina simply acknowledged there was no reason for her not to play and defend her title: “Yes, I mean, I like playing. I want to keep on going. I think, Why not?”
Elena Rybakina © Getty Images Sport – Justin Setterfield
Rybakina arrived in Rome in great form
Three weeks ago in Stuttgart, Rybakina went through a couple of tough matches to start her clay season with a title. En route to winning Stuttgart, Rybakina impressively also beat Iga Swiatek, who was bidding to win her third consecutive Stuttgart title.
In Madrid, Rybakina did pretty as well as she reached the semifinal before losing a thriller to Aryna Sabalenla.
Now in Rome, Rybakina is the fourth seed and undoubtedly one of the top favorites for the title considering her current clay season form.
Last year, Rybakina dropped only set en route to winning Rome and the player who managed to take a set off the Kazakh last year was Swiatek.
It remains to be seen if Rybakina can continue her fine form and clinch back-to-back Rome titles.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login