Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina is a top star in women’s Tennis – here’s everything you need to know about her nationality
Elena Rybakina is one of the leading stars in women’s Tennis at the moment and she has achieved all her success representing Kazakhstan. However, she was born in Moscow, Russia and even played on the WTA tour under the Russian flag. So, wondering how her nationality changed all of a sudden. Well, let us take a deeper look at how things transpired in Rybakina’s career before all the glory and fame that she is getting currently.
Rybakina was born on 17th June, 1999 in Moscow. She represented Russia at the junior level, and she even played under the Russian flag on the WTA tour, with a best ranking of No.425. She switched her allegiance to Kazakhstan based on her father’s advice and also because the Kazakh government offered her a lot of money to represent them. She gained full support from Bulat Utemuratov, the president of the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation when she made the switch in 2018.
Both Rybakina and Kazakhstan have gained a lot of positives from this deal. Rybakina’s career flourished to the next level and she is currently ranked No.3 in WTA women’s singles. Meanwhile, the Kazakhs have got a superstar of their own on the global stage which is a great advertisement for the country. Rybakina is the first and only Kazakhstani Tennis player to win a Major (Wimbledon 2022) till date.
Elena Rybakina has taken her game to the next level in the last couple of years. Since Ashleigh Barty’s retirement in 2022, the trio of Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have won 10 out of a possible 16 big titles so far. Although, Swiatek appears to be ahead of the rest of the pack, Rybakina and Sabalenka have been really good in patches. All three of them have contributed massively to the growing popularity of women’s Tennis in recent years.
Rybakina is one of the most in-form players on the WTA tour at the moment. She has made the finals of two tournaments so far this year – the Australian Open and the Miami Open besides winning the Indian Wells Masters and the Italian. She will now be playing at Wimbledon as the defending champion and it remains to be seen if she can win the second Major of her career.
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