Elena Rybakina makes tennis look easy, puts in ludicrous amount of hard work to make it appear so: Andy Murray's former coach Mark Petchey
Elena Rybakina has taken the tennis world by storm in 2023. The 23-year-old won her maiden Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon last year. At the start of the new season, Rybakina reached the final of the Australian Open but lost to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.
Most recently, Elena Rybakina won the BNP Paribas Open by taking revenge on Sabalenka in the final, lifting her maiden WTA 1000 title. En route to her title-winning run, the reigning Wimbledon winner defeated the likes of Sofia Kenin, Paula Badosa, and Iga Swiatek.
Following her recent Miami Open win over Anna Kalinskaya, Mark Petchey, Andy Murray's former coach, reacted to a social media post that mentioned how the youngster makes tennis look "effortless."
"she makes tennis look effortless," the caption of the original tweet read.
she makes tennis look effortless https://t.co/8H8leJec0M
The former British tennis professional commented on the tweet and opined that Rybakina definitely makes tennis look "effortless" with the sheer amount of hard work.
"She really does. Ludicrous amount of hard work to make it look that easy," Petchey wrote on Twitter.
@Some1NamedRyan She really does. Ludicrous amount of hard work to make it look that easy
"I think it's still too early because it's too many tournaments ahead" - Elena Rybakina on comparison with Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek
Elena Rybakina made her debut in the top-10 of the WTA singles rankings in 2023. The 23-year-old attained her career-high ranking, No. 7 following her Indian Wells triumph. Since the start of the season, Rybakina has beaten World No. 1 Swiatek twice, the Australian Open as well as Indian Wells.
Thanks to their superb form in the 2023 season, the trio of Swiatek, Sabalenka, and Rybakina have become the talk of the town. With many tennis fans endorsing an intense rivalry brewing between the three tennis stars, Rybakina recently reflected on the same.
Speaking about the same, Rybakina stated that it is "too early" to predict anything.
"I mean, I think it's still too early because it's too many tournaments ahead . Yeah, I mean, for now it's like this but as I said, the season is still too long. So, we'll see how it's gonna end," she said in a conversation with the WTA Insider Podcast.
She further added that it is to be seen who can maintain their good start to the season.
"For sure three of us are in a very good start to the season and the question is who can maintain this level," said the World No. 7.
At the Miami Open, Elena Rybakina will lock horns with Spaniard Paula Badosa in the round of 32.