"It's not easy": Elena Rybakina blasts Billie Jean King Cup schedule

One-time Grand Slam winner Elena Rybakina has blasted the schedule for the Billie Jean King Cup. The 25-year-old has been quoted in report by The First Serve where she spoke about how difficult it was for her to find a way to play for her country in an impressive win against Australia which helped Kazakhstan cement a spot in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

"I know that the schedule overall is very packed, and it's not easy to even schedule Billie Jean King Cup," she said. "But ideally, if we go to one part of the world, it will be nicer to play the same part. Now, for example, the clay court [season] starts and [some have] already played even tournaments on clay. So to come back and play hard, it's a bit tricky. And ideally, if there is a tournament, it’s better to schedule it closer to where we want to be."

Rybakina further talked about the importance for her to play in team-based competitions. She also spoke how she feels playing at the Stuttgart Open where she lifted the title last year after beating Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2. "I can’t play all the tournaments," she stated. "Of course Stuttgart is nice, but I always like to play team competitions. It’s nice to play for your country, so I’m happy to make this decision and I’m happy to play finals [in Shenzhen]."

Rybakina is going through a lean patch, according to her own high standards. Her most recent appearance was in the WTA 1000 event — the Miami Open — where she was knocked out after losing in the round of 64 to America’s Ashlyn Krueger with a score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. This year, she has played in six different WTA events but has never managed to play in final of any competition.