“To be number one, you need to be really consistent”: Elena Rybakina outlines World No. 1 formula at Roland-Garros

Elena Rybakina has the chance to reach World No. 1 in the WTA Rankings for the first time in her career at Roland-Garros and, in a press conference, addressed what is needed to reach the top of the rankings. The two-time Grand Slam champion is the most recent major winner and arrives with a status that allows her to challenge Aryna Sabalenka’s dominance.

It will not be an easy mission, as she must at least consider a campaign through to the semifinals of the tournament and hope for an early defeat from World No. 1 Sabalenka. Without considering what the Belarusian can do, the only way to secure No. 1 is for Rybakina to win the title — or reach the final and Sabalenka not reach the semifinals.

For now, Rybakina started on the right foot after comfortably defeating Veronika Erjavec 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round. “In the beginning, I definitely didn’t start so well, a couple of unforced errors,” the Kazakh player analyzed in the press conference. “As I said, with the conditions you need time to get used to it. The ball was flying a lot, it was not easy to control.”

“Afterwards I felt more comfortable and I was just trying to stay aggressive and keep swinging,” added the 2026 Australian Open champion. “The beginning is always tricky, but then you adjust and it gets better.”

The 26-year-old player has a good chance to reach World No. 1 for the first time in her career if she manages to win the French Open — or produces a deep run and waits for an early exit from Sabalenka. The Kazakh’s best results at Roland-Garros are quarterfinal appearances (2021 and 2024), while on this occasion she is defending the fourth round.

The possibility of becoming No. 1 is still present, although Rybakina acknowledged that she needs to maintain consistency throughout the next two weeks to achieve an unprecedented milestone in her career.

“To be number one, you need to be really consistent. That is the most important thing,” she said. “And you always need to stay healthy in such a difficult schedule, because there is no room to skip tournaments. If you don’t feel well, you can lose early. So I feel consistency is the most important thing, and of course staying healthy.”

Rybakina awaits her second-round match against the Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva, with whom she has no previous meetings. The world No. 2 admitted that there are still aspects of her game to improve ahead of her next appearance in the tournament.

“I think the start of matches can always be better. The serve, the percentage of first serves wasn’t as high as I wanted,” Rybakina mentioned. “But again, it was hot, so I had to adjust. It’s not easy to get the right angles in such conditions. Footwork can always be better, and some decisions as well. But overall, it’s a good start for me.”