Jimmy Connors bats for Elena Rybakina's reserved character, says she's not there to win a popularity contest
Unlike the majority of professional tennis players, Elena Rybakina doesn't exude emotions on the court, which is totally fine as far as Jimmy Connors is concerned.
Rybakina, who changed her nationality to Kazakhstan in 2018, took the tennis world by storm when she won her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. Fans were also taken aback as they noticed the 23-year-old celebrate with just a smile after rallying from a set down to defeat Ons Jabeur in the final at SW19.
With no punching in the air or victorious roars, Rybakina has built a reputation for flying under the radar but at the same time, producing results. Speaking on the Advantage Connors podcast recently, former World No. 1 Connors showered praise on the youngster for finding her own way to go about her tennis.
"She's found her niche and is going about her business in her way in what allows her to play successful tennis," Connors said. "Not everybody is Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Ilie Nastase, or Jimmy Connors."
Connors stated that emotions play a huge role in the performance of a player on the court and that Elena Rybakina was comfortable with her approach.
"You've got to find your own way, not only with your game but also with your emotions because your emotions control a lot of what goes on out there too and the way you play. So finding that and feeling comfortable in your game, emotions, and attitude is just as important," he said.
The 109-time titlist remarked that the Kazakh star's priority was to win matches, which is exactly what she has done in the last few months.
"She still smiles but she's a little bit shy. Well, that's okay. It's not affecting her tennis. The tennis result is what counts. You're not out there to win a popularity contest. You're there to win a tennis match and whatever it takes to win that match and how to go about it. She seems to be very comfortable in the way she's going about it, especially with the results in the last nine-ten months," he added.
Elena Rybakina to face Paula Badosa in Miami Open 2023 R3
Elena Rybakina won her maiden WTA 1000 title last week at the 2023 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells to achieve a career-best ranking of No. 7. On her way to glory, she defeated World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals and 2023 Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
After receiving a bye in the first round of the 2023 Miami Open, the 10th seed downed Anna Kalinskaya in the second round to set up a clash with 29th-ranked Paula Badosa. This will be the seventh meeting between the two players, with the Spaniard leading 4-2 in the head-to-head. Their last meeting came at the 2023 Indian Wells Open, where Rybakina beat Badosa in straight sets.