Elena Rybakina finally achieves her 'goal' of learning to drive, works with 'very strict' instructor to get her license in Dubai
Elena Rybakina achieved her longtime goal of learning to drive a car during the off-season ahead of the 2025 WTA Tour. The Kazakh professed her wish to master driving at the 2024 Stuttgart Open, where she was awarded a Porsche after winning the tournament.
Elena Rybakina is enjoying the off-season after a year that saw her struggle with injuries, make personnel changes in her team, and win a few big titles. She is currently in Dubai and took lessons to drive a car. In a video shared by Rybakina's driving school, the Kazakh can be seen learning the chops.
In the clip, the 25-year-old seemed happy to finally master a skill and thanked the "strict instructor" at Galadri Motor Driving Centre for guiding her through the process. The institute later shared in the same Instagram post that Rybakina passed the exam and acquired her driver's license.
"I just joined Galadari driving school and really happy to join and practice. I have a very strict instructor. But it is very nice experience and looking forward to my exam tomorrow," Rybakina said.
The driving lessons come after Elena Rybakina revealed that she does not have a driver's license at the 2024 Stuttgart Open. In her post-match interview after reaching the final at the WTA 500 tournament, the Kazakh stated that she aims to get a driver's license soon, and the Porsche Taycan 4S Sport Turismo prize for the winner was a good motivation for her.
I actually don’t have (a) driver’s license. So it’s gonna be the goal, of course. I mean, I want (it) already for a long time, so that’s a good motivation," she said.
She continued in her press conferecne, "I wanted to do it already long time, but I never have chance to be at one place for long. I did already couple of lessons. I was driving, but yeah, for sure that's the goal for this year outside of the court. And with this car, if I win, it's going to be one double goal. Hopefully I finish it this year."
Elena Rybakina ended 2024 at World No. 5 with three titles
Elena Rybakina's 2024 season was hampered by injuries after a bright start. The Kazakh began the year with a title at Brisbane International, where she blew away Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the WTA 500 tournament. However, the former Wimbledon champion failed to carry forward the good form at the Australian Open as she endured a second-round upset loss.
Rybakina regained her form quickly and won her second title of the year by beating Daria Kasatkina in the final of the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open. This was followed by a runner-up finish at the WTA 1000 tournaments in Qatar and Miami. The Kazakh kicked off the clay court swing with the third and final title of the year at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart after beating Marta Kostyuk in the final.
Rybakina's train derailed after Stuttgart as she came down with injuries and illnesses, forcing her to withdraw from several tournaments and miss the entirety of the Asian swing. At the end of her season, the Kazakh announced that she had hired former Wimbledon champion and Novak Djokovic's coach Goran Ivanisevic to replace Stefano Vukov on her coaching team.
Rybakina last competed in the WTA Finals in Riyadh, where she was eliminated in the round-robin. However, she ended her tournament with a win over World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.