"I didn’t miss many tournaments and played the whole year": Health issues averted the big win for Elena Rybakina this year

As the WTA Finals prepare to get underway on November 1st, Elena Rybakina arrives with quiet confidence and renewed purpose after a strong close to her 2025 campaign. The Kazakh star, who lifted her first title in over a year earlier this season before adding a second in Ningbo, believes her return to form has come through steady work and self-belief — not dramatic change.

“It feels very weird,” Rybakina admitted with a small smile after her latest triumph speaking to the WTA for their Reflector piece ahead of the WTA Finals in Riyadh. For a player who has long been regarded among the most naturally gifted ball strikers in the women’s game, success, she says, has been about persistence more than anything else.

“What motivates me? Just to try to be a little bit better every day — no matter what it is, on the court or off the court,” she explained.

That approach has underpinned one of her most consistent seasons to date. After struggling with illness and scheduling challenges in 2024, Rybakina set out to compete regularly again — a target she can now say she’s achieved.

“I would say one goal was fulfilled,” she reflected. “I played the whole season — I didn’t skip much — and health-wise, I think I stayed pretty consistent. I didn’t miss many tournaments and played the whole year, so that goal I definitely achieved.”

Remaining inside the world’s top 10 has been another measure of her resilience. “It’s definitely great to stay in the top 10 because there are so many good players, and it’s not easy to always be there,” she said. “You have ups and downs, and the quicker you can get back on the right track — that’s probably the difference between top 10 players and others. So there is some kind of consistency still.”

That consistency, both physical and mental, is what Rybakina now equates with true success. “Probably success is to be able to be consistent on and off the court and to have results — not just once a year, but, as I said, more consistent.”

It’s a mindset that has clearly paid dividends. Her victories in 2025, including a stunning comeback to claim the Ningbo title, have reminded the rest of the field of her quality and composure under pressure.

Heading into the WTA Finals, Rybakina continues to rely on clarity and calm preparation. “I think I’m trying to visualize what I should do on the court — the things that maybe worked out in the previous matches,” she said. “And most importantly, to love what you do. That’s already success.”

For all her power and precision on the court, Rybakina describes herself as reserved away from it. “Probably as someone quite introverted — can be funny, empathetic, and just myself,” she said with characteristic honesty. That grounded sense of self may be her greatest strength as she lines up among the world’s elite in Riyadh. With form restored and belief renewed, Rybakina enters the WTA Finals not just chasing titles — but continuing her pursuit of something deeper: lasting, day-by-day consistency.