French Open: ‘Super Nervous’ Elena Rybakina Confesses to Intimidating Serena Williams Experience When She was a Rookie

Elena Rybakina’s dominant run at the French Open continues! Coming into the tournament as a hot favorite, the player from Kazakhstan does not seem to stop anytime soon and is determined to make her way as far as she can. Facing Elise Mertens in the third round, she secured a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 win to secure her fourth-round clash against Elina Svitolina. The last time she made her fourth-round appearance at the tournament was 3 years back when she faced Serena Williams in the fourth round. While it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her, she came ahead and talked about how she felt facing Serena Williams back in 2021.

Reflecting on the encounter, she suggested that it was a privilege to play against her. While she added that she was nervous at first, knowing the fact that she was Serena’s one of the last opponents on the court made her felt privileged “Yeah, I remember I was super nervous coming out on the court. It was a privilege to play against Serena. I remember that after that she actually didn’t play many matches, so it was a privilege to play against her,” said Elena Rybakina in the post-match press conference at the French Open.

Thus, Elena Rybakina holds the privilege of facing Serena Williams on clay. While her nervousness was on top as she stepped on the court, she faced one of the greatest legends of the game. However, this is not the first time when she has talked highly about the former world number 1.

Elena Rybakina says win against Serena Williams gave her confidence

In another interview earlier last year, she came ahead and voiced her opinion on her iconic match against Serena Williams. In a match where she secured the win, she suggested that it gave her confidence to play better on clay. While suggesting that it was her then-best result at any grand slam, she added that it was just nice memories that she will keep with her forever.

“I just remember, it’s really nice memories when I played against Serena. Back then it was also my best result on a Grand Slam. I made it to 2nd week. Also giving me confidence I can play good on clay,” said Elena Rybakina last year as well.

Thus, for Elena Rybakina, it was a pleasure mounting moment to face someone as iconic as Serena Williams. What did the icing on the cake was her straight-sets win over the 23-time grand slam winner. What are your thoughts on this? Did you watch that match three years ago? Do let us know in the comments below!