After defeating Elina Svitolina with ease on Centre Court, the former champion Elena Rybakina easily advanced to the Wimbledon semi-finals.
With a 6-3 6-2 victory that only just 62 minutes, Kazakhstan’s Rybakina proved to be superior to Svitolina and will make her first appearance in the final four since winning the championship in 2022.
Rybakina is aware that many believe she will win Wimbledon a second time around, and her triumph over Svitolina to go to the semifinals will only serve to confirm that belief.
In response to a question about how she is coping with being the clear favourite at Wimbledon, Rybakina disagreed with it.
In her post-match press conference, the reporter asked her: “Coming into this year’s semis as the overwhelming favourite, the only person to have won the tournament, how are you managing that pressure compared to in 2022?”
Rybakina replied: “I think it’s only you guys telling me that I’m the only one left who won this tournament. I don’t really think about it so much. In 2022 I was definitely more nervous than I am now. It was the first time for me to play on Centre Court. It was a lot of people, a lot of attention. Now I got used to it a bit. I’m taking these matches in a different way.”
Elena Rybakina was asked how she’s handling the pressure of being the ‘overwhelming favorite’ at Wimbledon
“Coming into this year’s semis as the overwhelming favorite, the only person to have won the tournament, how are you managing that pressure compared to in 2022?”
Elena: “I… pic.twitter.com/bvM2uUo86v
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 10, 2024
Rybakina in Wimbledon, ranking, and results in 2024
Ranked no.4, Rybakina owns a composed 40-7 match record in 2024. Rybakina is competing in Wimbledon where she toppled the world no.152 Elena Gabriela Ruse 6-3 6-1, the world no.72 Laura Siegemund 6-3 3-6 6-3, the world no.91 Caroline Wozniacki 6-0 6-1, the world no.18 Anna Kalinskaya 6-3 3-0 ret. and the world no.21 Elina Svitolina 6-3 6-2.
Elena Rybakina will square off with the world no.32 Barbora Krejcikova in the semifinal. The head to head is 2-0 for Krejcikova.
Rybakina conquered 3 titles in 2024 in Brisbane, Abu Dhabi and Stuttgart. Elena got to the final in Doha (Qatar TotalEnergies Open) and in Miami (Miami Open).
Elena won 8 titles in her career: 4 on hard courts, 3 on clay courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of her titles)
