2022 Wimbledon Championships: Simona Halep vs Elena Rybakina – Preview, Head-to-Head, Prediction

Sailing over her opponents in the most dominant fashion, Simona Halep is back in the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championships. Eyeing her second title on the grass courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the former World No. 1 is set to take on the 17th-seeded Elena Rybakina.

Working with her new coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, the Romanian player, with her performance, has given a clear indication of why is she the hot favorite for the title. Thanks to the insights by Mouratoglou in her game, Halep is yet to drop a set in the tournament. Similar to Halep, the 23-year-old Rybakina is also climbing the ladder of success, dropping just one set in her journey to the semifinals.

Simona Halep vs Elena Rybakina: Preview

Over the years, Halep has time and again proved why she deserves to be called one of the best players. The 30-year-old has had a decent season so far. She kicked off her year with a title win at the Melbourne Summer Set 1. Taking her dominance forward, she further reached the later rounds in the tournaments that followed.

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Having a not so pleasant clay court season, she made a major comeback on the grass courts. Having hands on the grass courts, she reached the semifinals in Birmingham and Bad Homburg before finally entering the Championships. Looking in good shape, Halep’s aggressive game could be the key factor in her match against Rybakina.

On the other hand, Rybakina has had a series of ups and downs in her season to date. While the Russian-Kazak player has reached the later rounds in a handful of tournaments, she suffered early round exits in the remaining ones. Warming up for Wimbledon, she played in s’Hertogenbosch and Eastbourne. However, unable to perform, the 23-year-old suffered second round exits in both the events.

Despite the loss, Rybakina headed for the Championships with utmost confidence. Reaching her maiden Grand Slam semifinals, she is undoubtedly in the right shape to push Halep to her limits.

Halep vs Rybakina: Head-to-Head

Halep and Rybakina have faced each a total of 3 times in their careers so far. Co-incidentally all three meetings between the two have taken place on hard courts. The two first played at the Wuhan Open in 2019. However, having one of the most unpleasant first meetings, Halep was forced to withdraw mid match with a back injury.

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Looking to avenge her defeat, Halep finally got the chance in the finals of the 2020 Dubai Open. Despite having a close match, it was Halep who triumphed in the three-set thriller. Taking the contest forward, the two met for the third time in the 3rd round of the 2021 US Open. Facing a similar situation to that of Dubai, Halep again survived a close scare as she won the clash in three sets.

Looking at the records, Halep leads the head-to-head race 2-1.

Prediction: Halep in three sets

Looking at her previous performances, one can say that Simona Halep steps up her game at Wimbledon. Adding to it is her year-to-date performance. Yet to lose a set, Halep’s devastating form undoubtedly gives her an upper hand in the clash. Apart from her year-to-date performance, the head-to-head race also slightly indicates her having the experience of outplaying Rybakina in close matches.

On the other hand, the confidence of playing in her maiden major semifinal is set to be an added advantage for Rybakina. Even though Halep is the hot favorite for the title, Rybakina’s current form is an indication of a neck-to-neck fight between the two.