She is not the best known. Nor the most popular. Even less the most extravagant. But Elena Rybakina wins.
She did it again Sunday afternoon, in the Indian Wells tournament final, beating Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets 7-6 (11), 6-4.
His name is foreign to most of the population. Even for connoisseurs, spelling it out can be a challenge requiring a detour on any search engine.
However, Rybakina is no stranger to the finals of important tables. Last summer she won the Wimbledon tournament. In January, she was a finalist at the Australian Open against Sabalenka. The two found themselves in the final of the most prestigious Masters 1000. To get there, Rybakina defeated world number one, Iga Świątek, in two tricky sets of 6-2 in the semi-finals.
If the recognition of the Kazakh matched the quality of her game, she would be a superstar. However, she does things her own way, with relative discretion. If she had been entitled to the points linked to her victory on the London turf, she would be part of the top 3. When Sabalenka sent the last return of the match into the net, Rybakina barely raised her arms. Waiting for her huge crystal trophy, she barely smiled. Out of embarrassment or amazement.
If the tenth racquet in the world won this match, it was not only because of the 10 double faults in the first set, the 26 unforced errors or the palpable impatience of Aryna Sabalenka. It is mainly thanks to his immense talent.
Three elements worked in favor of the future champion: her performance in return of service, her precision in the service and her consistency.
This match featured two service aces. One, Sabalenka, representing pure strength. The other, Rybakina, being robotically precise. Two styles, two approaches, but two references in this facet of the game. On Sunday, precision won. With its seven aces, only two double faults and above all 59% of points won on the second ball, the tenth racquet in the world was superior and more efficient than its rival.
Rybakina was consistent from start to finish. Since tennis is a game of mistakes, she let Sabalenka take the brunt of her erratic play. In return for service, the Kazakh completely destabilized the 24-year-old Belarusian. From the first games of the match, both feet firmly planted, Rybakina returned everything. A short cross in reverse. A long line forehand. A parallel backhand on the baseline. His return chains made the great and powerful Sabalenka doubt. From the fourth game of the match, she began to lose patience.
Rybakina is making a name for herself in the world of tennis. Even if some still have trouble spelling it.
Sabalenka escapes him
On paper, Sabalenka arrived in tennis heaven one step ahead. She had beaten her opponent in Australia, she was higher ranked, she had won the first four clashes between the two and she was on a fun run in the Californian desert with victories against María Sákkari (7), Cori Gauff (6) and Barbora Krejčíková (16).
She fought well, but without her weapon of choice, things got complicated. His serving statistics are far from catastrophic. However, his loss had a lot to do with his poor second-ball performance; 10 double faults in the first set, including three in the tiebreaker, and only 44% of points won when the ball crossed the net.
On a court, Sabalenka is intimidating. She roars, because like the tattoo on her forearm, she is a lioness. She is voracious, hungry and ruthless. From the start of the match, she attacked the lines. She led the discussions. She forced her adversary to survive instead of exist.
With this kind of tactic, usually, Sabalenka gets away with it. His parallel forehand at 4-4 to take the lead was breathtaking. His huge game-winning backhand in the tiebreaker was brilliant.
Except that against a player of the caliber of Rybakina, wanting to play with fire, we end up getting burned.
PHOTO FREDERIC J. BROWN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Aryna Sabalenka
Their contested final in Australia became an instant classic. Certainly one of the best Grand Slam finals in recent years. Again on Sunday, the two assailants offered a grandiose spectacle.
The first game lasted seven minutes. The first four games of the match required a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker for the set went to 13 points.
There was everything in this meeting. Huge winners, mistakes, racquet throws, laughs, screams, long exchanges, aces. In short, a final worthy of a Masters 1000.
Both players have demonstrated that women’s tennis is in excellent health. They also proved that despite the beginning of a rivalry, they have a lot of esteem for each other.
When Rybakina was on the microphone addressing the crowd, Sabalenka stuck her tongue out at her as she said, “I would like to congratulate Aryna on her game and her great results so far this season. The crowd erupted in laughter.
She went on to say, “This is my first time beating her, so I hope it will happen again in the future.” Rybakina then stepped up to the microphone to add, jokingly: “I’ll make sure this is the last time! »
“No, no, no,” retorted the winner to the laughter of the crowd.
The two new faces of women’s tennis will meet again. They have proven that women can put on an extraordinary show. “I hope we will play many more finals against each other! Hoping that the next one will be to my advantage, ”launched the Belarusian.
They proved that women also deserve to play on Sundays. And why not, in the near future, at prime time, in the evening program?