Elena Rybakina has recalled how the pressure affected her at last year's US Open after claiming her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon 2022.
World No. 4 Rybakina defied the odds at last year's grasscourt major when, as the seventeenth seed, she upset Ons Jabeur to take her first major title, and her only one to date.
This victory saw the Kazakhstani player soar into the spotlight, and expectations were high going into the final Grand Slam of the 2022 season at Flushing Meadows.
However, the 24-year-old faced immediate disappointment at the New York major, losing her first-round match in straight sets to French player Clara Burel, who won 6-4, 6-4.
This came after a difficult run across WTA tournaments on the North American swing, going out in the first round at the Silicon Valley Classic and the second round of the Canadian Open. Nevertheless, Rybakina did still reach the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open, defeating eighth seed Garbine Muguruza along the way.
This year, Rybakina has recalled how she struggled to cope with the added pressure as she prepared for last year's Slam.
"Last year was not easy for me. There was a lot of attention on me as a person. New things were happening around me. I needed to understand all this and I didn’t have a good preparation for the US Open," she said.
However, the fourth seed added that she feels much more confident this year.
"This time I feel more experienced, I know what is expected of me. It’s much easier so that gives me a good and positive feeling," she continued.
This has already shown in her performance, as Rybakina achieved a commanding victory over Marta Kostyuk in the opening round, winning 6-2, 6-1. She will face Ajla Tomljanovic in her next match.
Elena Rybakina says last year wasn’t easy on her: “Last year was not easy for me. There was a lot of attention on me as a person. New things were happening around me. I needed to understand all this & I didn’t have a good preparation for the US Open. This time I feel more…
