“She’ll be in the number-one conversation this year”: Andy Roddick anticipates a ‘turning point’ for Rybakina after Australian Open title

Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick closely followed the women’s final of the Australian Open, in which Elena Rybakina secured a hard-fought victory over Aryna Sabalenka by 6–4, 4–6, 6–4. The Kazakh took revenge for the 2023 final and lifted her second Grand Slam trophy.

It was an almost perfect tournament for Rybakina, who did not drop a single set on her way to the final and recorded wins over rivals such as Iga Swiatek (No. 2) and Jessica Pegula (No. 6). In the final, she had to overcome two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka — the current world No. 1, who had already contested four consecutive finals in Melbourne.

Roddick highlighted that the main Grand Slam contenders of recent years have been both Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, leaving other players slightly behind. The former world No. 1 believes that when Rybakina is physically fit, she is just as much a contender as the current top two.

“My point was that the conversation—rightfully so—has been Sabalenka and Swiatek as the most consistent over the last three years, with Coco in that mix as well. But I’ve always viewed Rybakina, when healthy and settled, as easily part of that group,” Roddick commented on the Served Podcast.

Rybakina secured her return to world No. 3 after two years — her best ranking so far. Since late 2025, she has been riding a remarkable run, winning 20 of her last 21 matches played. In the second half of 2025, this surge coincided precisely with the return of Stefano Vukov to her team.

“Her old coach comes back, and she wins again. I don’t know the interpersonal dynamics, but her best tennis has been played with him around,” Roddick said. “You can have opinions about everything else, but the results are there.”

“She has 10 consecutive wins over top-10 players. She’s not scared of big matches. She has the temperament for majors. I’ve never seen someone more understated after winning a Slam. If I’d won a second major, you’d have seen 17 cartwheels. She’s icy—and I respect it,” the 2003 US Open champion added. “It’s like scoring a Super Bowl-winning touchdown and handing the ball to the ref. Cold, in a good way.”

Roddick continued his analysis of the women’s Australian Open final, highlighting a Rybakina who won up to 76% of points on her first serve, converted 3 of 6 break points, and dropped her serve only twice throughout the match.

“Talent-wise, matchup-wise, if she’s healthy and in a good place, she’s in that top tier. You can argue she’s the favorite in a lot of those matchups. She gives Sabalenka problems because she can out-Sabalenka Sabalenka—big serve, through the court.”

“Now, Sabalenka does it more consistently for now. But Rybakina is building that consistency. Is this the start of a runaway run? An 18-month stretch like we’ve seen historically? She’s capable,” the former American tennis player said. “This isn’t a fluke. This isn’t a ‘got one, celebrate.’”

For Roddick, the new trophy won by the Kazakh will give her a confidence boost that could push her even higher. “This feels like a turning point. She’ll be in the number-one conversation this year,” Roddick stated. “She’ll be number three on Monday. Sabalenka and Iga have kind of had that locked up, but if Rybakina plays 20 tournaments and stays healthy, she’ll be right there.”

“She’s now 9–6 against WTA number ones—the best record since rankings were introduced, with a minimum of five matches. That stat’s a little deceiving because being number one limits those chances, but it still proves the point: she’s on that level.”

At the moment, Sabalenka remains comfortably at the top of the WTA rankings with 10,990 points, while second place belongs to Iga Swiatek — more than 3,000 points behind, with 7,978. Rybakina added 2,000 points with her Melbourne title and now stands at 7,610. With two WTA 1000 tournaments coming up in February, it may be sooner rather than later that Rybakina finds herself challenging for the top spot in the rankings.

Roddick, who reached the Australian Open semifinals on four occasions, commented on the improvements Rybakina has made to her game — aspects that were key to capturing her second major title. “What impressed me about Rybakina is that she’s not the fastest person on the planet, but we’ve talked about her range and her ability to hit in stride. She’s really good at that. It makes her coverage feel faster than her actual foot speed. Even if you get her to the corner, she runs through the shot and injects pace.”

“When she plays defense, it’s almost always cross-court. I thought Sabalenka might pick on that a bit, but when you’re doing it with such force, it doesn’t really matter if the opponent knows where it’s going. If you’re executing with pace, it works. It’s similar to Novak—down through the court. On TV, it looks like you should be able to go after it, but in reality, it’s not a ball you choose to fire on.”

Rybakina’s serve was also a major talking point — arguably alongside Sabalenka, the two best servers on the WTA Tour today. Roddick did not hesitate to place the Kazakh among the best servers in the history of the women’s game, bringing 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams into the discussion as well.

“I don’t want to be hyperbolic, and I guard against that, but this is a legitimate point. Serena is the best female server of all time. I don’t think you’d find anyone with an IQ bigger than their waist size who disagrees with that. I think Rybakina is quickly maybe top three or four ever. Ever.”

"The ability to hit all four spots on the serve — deuce wide, deuce middle, ad wide, ad middle — is crucial. She also gets significant kick on her second serve. It’s not just a big first serve followed by a second serve you can attack. Lindsay Davenport had a great serve and loved the slice — she would tell you that — but Rybakina hits the corners more easily and has more kick," Roddick concluded.