"Hope the third time is a charm" - Elena Rybakina pens note following second successive Miami final defeat
Elena Rybakina acknowledged her impressive run to the finals of the 2024 Miami Open with her sister and her team including her coach Stefano Vulkov and physical therapist Stefan Duell.
She lost the final clash against Danielle Collins with the scoreline being 7-5, 6-3 in favor of the American.
Currently ranked 4th in women's tennis, Rybakina has a mixed playing style with elements of both power and finesse at the same time. She is a big server capable of serving at speeds more than 200 km/hr. Her variety of groundstrokes and her competency in putting volleys away at the net paved the path for her to win the Wimbledon title in 2022 and make it to the final of the 2023 Australian Open.
Rybakina recently posted a photograph with her sister and her team on Instagram commemorating her appearance at the final of the 2024 Miami Open. Hoping to win the title next year after two successive runner-up finishes, she wrote:
"I hope the third time is a charm. See you next year @miamiopen.Thank you for the amazing atmosphere and support these two weeks."
Rybakina had lost to Petra Kvitova in the final of the 2023 Miami Open, where they recorded the longest-ever tiebreak played in the history of the WTA 1000 finals.
"Overall I think it's a positive week": Elena Rybakina on Miami Open run
At the post-match press conference, Elena Rybakina commended her performance to reach the finals, adding that she did not have any expectations at this event as she was not at her physical best and lacked match fitness before the tournament.
"Yeah, very tough match, but as I said, we were not expecting for me to be in the final with all the circumstances and that I didn't play so much before the tournament. So overall I think it's a positive week, and yeah, it was a lot of good matches. I'm happy with that."
When asked about her physical condition, Rybakina promptly stated that the quarter-final clash with Maria Sakkari left her physically drained and the tournament scheduling made it difficult for her to have optimum recovery time.
"No, of course after I think match with Maria, it was already difficult physically. I was feeling the body, of course.......... So the schedule was also up and down, and recovery, it doesn't help, for sure."
When asked about which final loss felt more disappointing, the Kazakh said that while the situation was different last year compared to this year, she was nonetheless pleased with her performance despite the result.
"Here I was happy with two good matches, and then again I came to the final. So pretty much I wouldn't say disappointing. I think last year and this year, it's good result."