Wilander believes Rybakina 'half a step ahead' of Sabalenka and Swiatek at Wimbledon
WTATuesday, 11 July 2023 at 16:30
Elena Rybakina has recovered from recent illness to take her place as the favourite at this year's Wimbledon. She will face Ons Jabeur in a repeat of the 2022 final and Mats Wilander believes she is a step ahead of the rest.
Rybakina believes in particular Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are behind her in the race to the title with Wilander calling Rybakina 'perfect for grass'.
This due to her serve and also the confidence she took from becoming a first time Grand Slam champion this time last year.
She has since carried that form on and many believe would've challenged Swiatek for Roland Garros if illness hadn't reared its head.
“I think they’ve had their dips,” he said during a Eurosport broadcast.
“Aryna Sabalenka had a little bit of a problem against [Varvara] Gracheva [in the second round] when she got involved in a three-set match, but then she played great in the next round.
“Iga Swiatek was down match points to Belinda Bencic. She did great to come back, she’s showing that she’s getting more used to the grass and she’s talking about how she’s enjoying it more.
“And then you have Elena Rybakina. When she starts getting going we realise ‘oh okay, here we go again’.
“She’s perfect for the grass with the big serve and then the confidence from last year. So out of the three, you most probably have to put Rybakina half a step ahead in terms of being the favourite.”
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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