"I was pretty nervous, it's not easy" - Elena Rybakina echoes Marketa Vondrousova's sentiments on difficulties of playing Wimbledon as defending champ
Elena Rybakina echoed Marketa Vondrousova's sentiments regarding the challenges of competing at Wimbledon as the defending champion. Rybakina claimed the Grasscourt Major title in 2022, while Vondrousova emerged victorious in 2023. Notably, both the players secured their titles by defeating Ons Jabeur in the final match.
At this year's Wimbledon Championships, Rybakina and Vondrousova were seeded fourth and sixth, respectively. Rybakina kicked off her campaign with a dominant victory over qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse, winning 6-3, 6-1 in the first round . Meanwhile, defending champion Vondrousova suffered a defeat in the opening round, falling 4-6, 2-6 to Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
In a press conference following her loss to Bouzas Maneiro, Vondrousova admitted feeling "nervous" from the start and described the match as "tough." She expressed that it would be difficult to go back home as all her fans had expected her to win.
"I just, I felt nervous from the start and she was also playing a good match, so that was kind of tough. Overall, you know, it was very tough. Tough feelings to go back, I feel like everybody just expects you to win. So that's tough too, but I was happy to be back on on the Centre Court, just didn't go as planned today," Vondrousova said.
Following Marketa Vondrousova's unexpected exit, Elena Rybakina, during her post match press conference was asked if she, like the Czech, had felt nervous coming back to play during the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, where she was the defending champion.
In response, Rybakina stated that she had similar sentiments to Vondrousova and stated that she had felt the pressure to repeat her success from her 2022 campaign. The World No.4 said that the weight of expectations had also add to the pressure.
"Well I was pretty nervous also and same as now. I think every match you go, you are quite nervous and of course you want to repeat the result and maybe sometimes expectations are too big and it's like at the end of the day it's you fighting kind of against yourself every day. I think it's normal to be nervous in the end I guess," Elena Rybakina said [1:09].
Elena Rybakina also stated that when someone is playing well, is the top player or the defending champion, everybody wants to beat them therefore making victories harder to come by.
"If you're doing well everyone wants to beat you and I was in the same position when I was younger. I wanted to be the top player and as I say it's not easy I think. The year is tough, schedule wise and I've been playing a lot so every day is a challenge," she added [1:55].
Elena Rybakina on her 1R win at Wimbledon 2024: "Happy to win my first match here, it's a really special place"
During the post-match on-court interview, following her win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Elena Rybakina expressed that she was happy to win her first match at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, especially since she had limited practice on grass leading up to the tournament.
“Really happy to win my first match here this year and I didn’t play much from grass. Unfortunately I had some issues but I'm really happy to go and play another match,” Elena Rybakina said.
Rybakina went on to mention that Wimbledon holds a special place in her heart, and she also took the opportunity to thank her fans for their support.
“Yeah it's a really special place. So thank you so much guys for coming and it's always nice to be back. Feels like a place here yesterday to be honest like the year passes so quickly and it’s amazing to be back for sure,” she added.
Looking ahead, Elena Rybakina will face Germany's Laura Siegemund in the second round at Wimbledon.