A simple yet powerful phrase fueled Elena Rybakina’s journey on the grass! The No. 1 Kazakhstani player is vying for her second Grand Slam at Wimbledon this season. While she is only two steps away from achieving the feat, Rybakina credits her historic success at Wimbledon to the man who motivated her to embrace the unfamiliar terrain of grass. It is her coach, Stefano Vukov!

When a six-year-old Rybakina started playing tennis for the first time, little did she know that one day she would hold a winning record (90.5%) at Wimbledon, close to Steffi Graf and Ann Jones. “I think that’s an amazing statistic,” the 25-year-old player said to BBC Sport after hearing the news. Surprisingly, her journey on the grass was anything but “comfortable” initially. On top of that, Elena Rybakina also did not have the opportunity to receive individual training as a junior. Instead, she played in groups until the age of 18!

However, it all changed as her coach, Stefano Vukov, entered the scenario in 2019, five years after she turned pro. It was also the same year when Rybakina acquired her first WTA title and made her top 100 debut. And as both continued their practice on different surfaces, Rybakina once confessed her fear of the grass to Vukov. On hearing this, the Croatian tennis coach instilled a strong belief in the Kazakhstani player. “When I first played on grass I didn’t feel comfortable, but my coach told me, ‘You were born for this, you just need to keep going’,” he said to Rybakina.

Since then, something changed in the young Kazakh player’s approach to the green surface. With her excellent serve and high-powered groundstrokes, Rybakina has now pulled off 19 wins among her 21 appearances at Wimbledon alone! As a result, Rybakina frequently praises her coach for his contribution to her gameplay. Even when she won the Stuttgart Open earlier this season and won a Porsche, she wanted him to drive her around in that car and expressed her gratitude. 

Furthermore, Elena Rybakina once said, “He helps me a lot. We have open dialogues, and we’ve worked already for four years. Sometimes I have bad days but people might not see it. And of course, when we work on the court, I respect him a lot, I’m trying to listen and get all the information I can.” It is with his support that Rybakina has now entered the semifinals again and is soon going to face Barbora Krejcikova. Before going into the game, she has her motto clear.

Elena Rybakina aims to win the Wimbledon title once again!

In 2022, Elena Rybakina won her maiden title at Wimbledon, winning hearts of fans worldwide. Although she couldn’t go past the quarterfinals last season, this year, Rybakina is back with new motivation and vigor. Her mind is set, “This is something I want to achieve, I want to do again. Everybody wants to win. Everybody’s going to fight.”

The first ever Kazakhstani player to win a Wimbledon title, Rybakina has suffered from abdominal pain before coming into the grass courts of London. However, as she took down five of her opponents at Wimbledon, the World No. 4 showed little to no signs of discomfort. 

“I’m feeling pretty well on the court, especially last three matches. I’m playing pretty confident. As we all know, sometimes you wake up and something can happen. Hopefully nothing is going to happen tomorrow. For sure, I will try to stay focused and show the same tennis,” she said after her victory in the quarterfinal clash against Elina Svitolina. Much like Elena Rybakina herself, we all hope that utilizing the support of her loved ones and her coach, the world No. 4 shows her “best tennis” at Wimbledon.