Rybakina crushes Svitolina as supreme run continues

A couple of weeks before the start of Wimbledon, Elena Rybakina had an all too familiar setback. In the early stages of a quarter-final during a warm-up tournament in Berlin, she retired with a stomach injury.

- Tumaini Carayol

A cloud of uncertainty still hung over her status as she returned to Wimbledon, where in 2022 she won her first and only major title.

But as Rybakina has progressed through the draw and all of her rivals have gradually fallen away, she has reached the final stages performing at a spectacular level and reinforcing her status as the prohibitive favourite. Rybakina returned to the semifinals with an imperious performance on Centre Court, crushing a helpless Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-2.

In the past two years Rybakina has established herself inside the top five while consistently making deep runs and winning titles across all surfaces. She might have achieved even more if not for the health problems she has had to consistently address. She has retired or withdrawn from matches six times over the past year, mostly because of illnesses that have continued to affect her matches and training for weeks. This time around, she has quickly shaken off those issues and rediscovered her form.