Elena Rybakina

Elena Rybakina came up through the Russian junior system in Moscow before switching her allegiance to Kazakhstan in 2018 at age 19, a federation that bankrolled her at the exact moment her career needed funding. She turned pro in 2014 and ground through the ITF circuit, breaking the top 100 after winning her maiden WTA title at 2019 Bucharest. By 2020 she had reached five tour finals — the most of any player that COVID-shortened season — and announced herself as one of the heaviest hitters in the women's game.

At 6'0", Rybakina builds everything off one of the cleanest, most efficient serves on tour — a flat, high-percentage delivery that holds up on every surface and produces free points in bunches. Behind it sits a low-error, take-the-ball-early baseline game and a famously unbothered on-court demeanor that earned her the "Ice Queen" tag. The weakness is consistency: when the serve dips, the points get harder, and the flat hitting leaves thin margins against scramblers like Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.

The defining run came at Wimbledon 2022, where she beat Ons Jabeur in the final to win Kazakhstan's first Grand Slam singles title. She reached the 2023 Australian Open final, won the biggest hard-court 1000s in Indian Wells and Rome, and finished 2024 by climbing inside the top five. Her rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka — two power baseliners trading blows at the top of the draw — has become one of the WTA's marquee matchups, alongside repeat tests against Swiatek.

This season she sits at No. 2 in the world, firmly back in the title conversation across surfaces. With the French Open and grass swing ahead, the question is whether the serve travels onto clay well enough to push her toward a second major.