Elena Rybakina’s season has been a true rollercoaster. She started strong, bagging a victory at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix back in April, but since then, it’s been a bumpy road. From her surprising split with longtime coach Stefano Vukov—fueling whispers of tension—to dealing with the physical and mental toll of an extended hiatus, Rybakina’s challenges seem to have followed her back to the courts. But in the midst of all the hurdles, the resilient star seems to have found some relief. 

The Kazhak tennis sensation witnessed a baffling defeat in the first match of her WTA Finals campaign. Playing against Jasmine Paolini, Rybakina lost in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-4 which hinted that she is probably still not in the best of her forms. This is the first tournament that the star player is playing after her surprising withdrawal from the US Open this year after which she remained absent from the courts. But despite these challenging phases, Rybakina has something to fall back on and it’s a selfie with Neymar Jr. 

Taking to her Instagram story, Rybakina shared a picture of herself alongside Paolini and Neymar. The caption read, “Well at least I got a pic with @neymarjr 🥲🙃,” highlighting that there is something to make her happy. The Brazilian soccer star was present at the venue as a special guest who conducted the coin toss for the match. That’s definitely a moment a relief, but Rybakina’s challenges have been quite concerning for her team.

The star player missed more than 10 tournaments this season due to her poor health. To add to these woes, another controversy erupted after tennis bigwig and Russian journalist, Sofya Tartakova dropped a major claim during an interview. She claimed that Rybakina faced distressing situations with her former coach, Vukov and that her absence and poor health were a result of this stressful atmosphere. While Rybakina expressed her desire to make a dominant return to the WTA finals, she failed to win in her first match.

These challenges seem to have taken a toll on the player who herself is not expecting much from the tournament and is just willing to have some fun and test her levels. 

“Not at my best,” Elena Rybakina makes heartfelt admission for the WTA finals

Elena Rybakina has been navigating a tough phase in her professional life. The recent setbacks, amalgamated with the hiatus have impacted her ability to dominate her opponents and the player is not unaware of the scenario. It is probably for this reason that she wished to focus only on her game without expecting much from the tournament. 

Speaking in an interview ahead of the WTA finals, the star player said, “It’s not easy to start after this break. But I’m happy with the work we did in the last two weeks.The level definitely not at my best. I actually came without much expectation. I want to have fun. I want to see where I am, where is my level now playing against the best players.” Continuing further, she revealed that her primary focus is to remain healthy and come back stronger the next year. 

“Yeah, no expectation. Just fight, have fun. Most important for me to stay healthy, yeah, be ready for pre-season and starting fresh for next year,” Rybakina added. As the tournament progresses, it would be interesting to see if Elena Rybakina can bounce back. What do you think of her chances?