"That was a glimpse into her character that we rarely see" - Roddick and Wertheim shift blame away from Rybakina as they enjoy signs of personality

Andy Roddick and Jon Wertheim were in full praise of Elena Rybakina after her performance in the WTA Finals. They also discussed her decision to snub WTA CEO Portia Archer for a photo after the match, highlighting the personality she uncharacteristically shown in that moment.

Aside from the obvious gesture towards Archer, Wertheim was surprised with a show of personality, something that Rybakina normally keeps close to her chest. "Yeah, this is a player who doesn’t give up much. I don’t know if you saw her reaction before she turned away from WTA CEO Portia Archer at the trophy presentation — or even on match point — not exactly cartwheels," Wertheim said on the Served podcast. "She’s not particularly expressive, so that gesture, basically not acknowledging the WTA, was actually a rare glimpse into her personality."

Wertheim did not pinpoint the blame on the WTA. "I don’t think the WTA has anything to apologise for," Wertheim believed. "You get a complaint, you’re obligated to look into it. There’s a code of conduct, and they determined the coach violated it. So, I don’t think the WTA did anything wrong."

"But I do think it says something that she’s still defiant about that situation," the American stated, highlighting the seriousness of the previous situation. "It frightened a lot of people close to the centre of it. The fact that here we are talking about her as a future major champion, that she just won $5 million, and seems comfortable and happy with her coach — that’s a good thing. This situation could’ve gone a lot darker, so we should be happy for everyone involved."

A chance to see Rybakina show some character and personality was very different from the ice cold competitor who shows nothing on the court. "And yeah, she doesn’t give up much — she’s got that Red Bull sponsorship, which is funny because she’s not exactly a Red Bull personality," Wertheim pointed out. "But that gesture with the CEO, that was a glimpse into her character that we rarely see."

After their final clash in the WTA Finals, the pair are hopefully set for a fantastic rivalry heading into 2026. Roddick asked Wertheim which one is more likely to win a major next year, he sided with the Kazakh.

"I think I might lean Rybakina. That serve — that’s one of the great weapons in modern tennis," Wertheim said explaining his decision. "People will look at that scoreline and say, “Oh, she beat Sabalenka in a tiebreaker,” but what happened in the 20 minutes before that is worth rewatching. That serve bailed her out of so many potentially dangerous situations. I’m going with Rybakina because of the serve."

"I think I agree," Roddick said, citing towards the surfaces of the court. "Rybakina, just because she’s better on clay. It’s one more opportunity, right? She’s won Rome before. It’s not her best surface by any means, but if you think about major chances, she’s got maybe three and a half versus Anisimova’s three."

As well as that, Roddick was always going to mention her scintillating serve. "I do think Rybakina has the best serve in women’s tennis. When you talk about Gauff, Iga, Sabalenka — you slot Rybakina into that conversation, and none of them want to play her. She’s one of the only ones who can go toe-to-toe with Sabalenka’s consistency and power," he said.

"I think with the women, there’s a little more predictive value. Some of it’s just the eye test — look at the way she served in that final, the way she stared down Sabalenka in that tiebreak. You just know it when you see it," Wertheim said, once again using the WTA Finals as an example.

"This is a player who we already know is great — she nearly has two majors and does have one. And if you look at the women’s field, there’s a certain level of parity at the top. We had four different major winners this year, but it’s the same core group — Gauff, Iga, Sabalenka, Rybakina. They’ve been there."

Wertheim concluded by putting her and Amanda Anisimova among the names to challenge for major titles next year. "I think Rybakina’s performance passes the eye test — she’s back. And as you said, both she and Anisimova have had these sort of mercurial careers for very different reasons, mostly off-court or non-injury related. You just know it when you see it: both will be contending for slams next year."