'No-brainer' best of the rest Elena Rybakina tipped by Andy Roddick for Grand Slam success in 2026

On the latest episode of the Served podcast, Andy Roddick and Jon Wertheim shared their thoughts on the women’s tennis landscape and singled out Elena Rybakina as a standout talent ready to make waves in 2026.

Going through their top 20 from the WTA tour this time, Rybakina finished as World No.5 but perhaps ended the year with the best stock having won the WTA Finals in Riyadh as well as multiple titles in Asia.

Given she had to have a last gasp run to even make it to the WTA Finals in Riyadh, she finished the year a bit like Zheng Qinwen did in 2024 albeit the Chinese ace did not win the title. She reached Riyadh with the most form having hoovered up titles and usurped Emma Navarro for that final spot.

It was similar here with Rybakina albeit a known quantity at this point but a bit hit and miss suddenly hitting form mostly when her rivals were tired and at the end of their year e.g Swiatek and even Sabalenka. Most already had their eyes on Maldives, Rybakina had hers on the prize.

“Out of this draft class, Rybakina is being drafted number one,” Roddick said. When asked about the rest of the players, Wertheim replied, “Who’s the rest?” Roddick added, “That’s what it feels like. This is the no-brainer.”

Comparing her to other top names on the tour, Roddick pointed to Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff. “Rybakina is that person, in my opinion. She finished the year strong and seems settled. I think she can win a major next year. No doubt.”

Wertheim noted that Rybakina nearly claimed the Australian title, coming “within a few games of having won that title already.” before and so has shown she can perhaps do it again.“Obviously, what she did at the end of the year in Riyadh was the capstone,” he added, highlighting the significance of her late-season performance.

Wertheim described Rybakina as “strenuously opaque” — a player who gives little away both on and off the court. “She gives you nothing when she plays, and she gives you very little when she wins,” he said. “I think that’s probably her personality, but also by design.”

Many were shocked in particular at the WTA Finals when Rybakina had more of a jovial manner in some of her interviews when she is usually the woman of very few words doing her talking on court. But this also became a bit of a challenge this year when her early season was dominated by Stefano Vukov gate when her coach was banned.

When he returned albeit controversially when his ban was rescinded on appeal, she began being a winning machine again something that will drag her into 2026.

Despite her quiet demeanor, Rybakina is already a major champion at just 26 years old. Wertheim emphasized that her off-court disruptions seem to have settled, allowing her focus to sharpen. “She won more money this year than Coco, I think, largely based on what she did in Riyadh.”

Roddick and Wertheim both believe Rybakina is far from finished. “You talk about the last 90 days of her season and you say, this is a player who is not done winning majors. She’s in that upper tier as far as ability, pretty easily,” Wertheim said. Roddick added, “I couldn’t think more of her game.”

As for expectations in 2026, Roddick noted, “She has a five next to her name — barring missing months and months and months. And I feel like that’s the caveat we do with everything. She’s going to be higher than that.”