"No matter who is on the other side, if the serve is working, then it’s perfect" - Elena Rybakina highlights importance of her serve

Elena Rybakina has looked to improve what is already her strongest component of her game ahead of a first round victory in the Australian Open against Kaja Juvan, winning 6-4, 6-3.

The Kazakh goes into the event as one of the favourites to clinch glory, and despite her tough draw later on in the competition she will be highly touted by many to add a second Grand Slam to her collection. She got the first job done, avoiding what would have been a seismic upset in the first round.

"Yeah, I’m happy with the win. Of course, first matches are always tough, and I’m happy with the way I served. In the previous tournament, it was not the case. There are, of course, a lot of things to work on, but hopefully my next match is going to be even better," she said in her press conference following the triumph.

It is concerning times for the rest of the tour if Rybakina improves her serve, but it looks like she has worked on it a lot more to get it in the prime condition for the Australian swing. Already recognised as one of the best servers on the WTA Tour, if when she is on song it is hard to feal with it, proven at the WTA Finals against the best players in the world.

"We’ve been working on the serve since, as I said, it was not really good in the past tournament," she admitted. "Today it worked, and hopefully it’s going to be the same throughout the whole tournament. Of course, there were other details we had to work on. Some things worked today, some things didn’t, but I think first matches are always tough to start the tournament. I’m hoping that with a day in between I will manage to improve a little bit and show it on the court."

Rybakina has never lost her opening round match at the Australian Open, but that does not eradicate the nerves in what could be an early exit. "I think I waited quite a long time to finally play here," she said. "I’m glad that I had a bit more than a week to prepare and work on things. The conditions the week before were a little colder, and now it’s quite hot, so you need to adapt. The balls are flying a lot."

She looked imperious in a practice match against Jasmine Paolini just before the tournament started, with this time on court crucial to get her familiar with her surroundings. "Now, when you’re in the tournament, you know how the courts are in matches. Of course, the practice match I did with Jasmine also helped, but again it was colder. I feel like once the tournament starts, mentally it’s probably a little bit easier."

In the debut of the One Point Slam, professional tennis players took to the court with amateurs and celebrities in a hugely popular and gripping event, with players showing their true and more relaxed colours while hugely enjoying themselves within the spectacle of the event.

In the end, amateur Jordan Smith took home the life-changing sum of $1 million intruly remarkable scenes. "I think it’s a nice event, and I’m very happy that in the end a non-professional won it," Rybakina added. "I think it’s really cool. It was fun to see all the players getting nervous because you have only one serve and it’s only one point. I think it’s a great event, and I hope we will see more like this at other tournaments."

Rybakina did not feature in the tournament. If she did, the former Australian Open finalist would not opt to use her weapon of a serve with the safe option of returning much more appealing. "In a One Point Slam, I feel like you don’t want to risk too much. You give a chance to the other person to serve and maybe miss. If I had the choice, I would probably choose to return. I served and it was fine, but most of the players were choosing to return."

In round two, Rybakina will take on Varvara Gracheva. They have faced off in two separate meetings in 2022 and 2023, with the former Wimbledon champion dropping just six games overall in two convincing wins.

She will be hoping for another one shortly, but will not be complacent going into the tie. "I think she’s a dangerous player. She can play really well from the baseline and she can serve well. But the most important thing for me is to focus on my game, especially the serve. No matter who is on the other side, if the serve is working, then it’s perfect. Of course, there are small things on the return to adjust, and being better in the first few shots of the rally. Then we’ll see how it goes," she concluded.