Elena Rybakina admits she thought she would be on holiday during the second week of last year’s Wimbledon. At the start of the 2022 grass season, Rybakina suffered a ‘s-Hertogenbosch round-of-16 loss and she also exited Eastbourne in the second round.
Going into 2022 Wimbledon, Rybakina didn’t really expect much since she wasn’t in impressive form. But then, Rybakina put up the run of her life at The All England Club and became a Grand Slam champion after beating Ons Jabeur in the final.
“I had ups and downs during last season and before Wimbledon my tournaments weren’t successful, I was struggling with injury. I had been on the road a long time and so I had not many expectations going there. I was actually thinking I would be on holiday in the second week because the grass hadn’t gone well.
I thought, ‘Let’s just see how it goes.’ I didn’t have any pressure and every match I improved,” Rybakina told The Daily Mail.
Rybakina: I never thought I’d play Wimbledon, let alone win it
Rybakina, who turned 24 this month, became a Grand Slam champion at the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world.
When Rybakina was a little girl and following Wimbledon on TV, she was in love with everything associated with The Championships. But she didn’t think that one day she would be competing at Wimbledon. “I was watching Wimbledon on TV as a child, I always liked the traditions of strawberry and champagne, but I never thought I would even compete there, let alone win it.
Of course it’s a beautiful place when you get there and that gives you a lift. When I think of coming back it is both scary and fun. I’m going to play on Centre Court at the start, but it will be good memories, actually it feels like yesterday.
We will stay in a bigger house this time because my team is bigger this year,” Rybakina said. At this year’s Wimbledon, Rybakina will be the defending champion at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her life.
