Wimbledon 2024: Elena Rybakina vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (4) Elena Rybakina vs (Q) Elena-Gabriela Ruse
Date: July 2, 2024
Tournament: Wimbledon 2024
Round: First Round (Round of 128)
Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Grass
Prize Money: £50,000,000
Live Telecast: USA - ESPN, Tennis Channel | UK - BBC | Canada - TSN/RDS, ESPN International
Elena Rybakina vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse preview
World No. 4 Elena Rybakina and qualifier Elena Gabriela-Ruse will clash in the first round of the 2024 Wimbledon on Tuesday, July 2.
Following a quarterfinal exit from the French Open, Rybakina headed to Berlin for the ecotrans Ladies Open to begin her grass prep. She received a bye into the second round, where Veronika Kudermetova awaited her.
The Kazakh moved past her, courtesy of a 6-4, 7-5 win, to set up a quarterfinal date with two-time Major champion Victoria Azarenka. Rybakina was under the weather right from the start, and after she fell behind 3-1 in the first set, decided to retire from the match. She also withdrew from the Rothesay International in Eastbourne after that.
Ruse's Wimbledon campaign got underway last week as she had to compete in the qualifying rounds. She toppled 17th seed Emiliana Arango 6-2, 6-3 in her first match, and then beat Dominika Salkova 6-4, 6-3 in the next round. She put up a commanding performance against Lea Boskovic to defeat her 6-2, 6-2 and make the main draw cut.
Elena Rybakina vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse head-to-head
Rybakina leads Ruse 1-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2022 Miami Open in straight sets.
Elena Rybakina vs Elena Gabriela-Ruse odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Elena Rybakina vs Elena Gabriela-Ruse prediction
Ruse mounted a rather strong campaign to make it through the qualifying rounds of Wimbledon. She didn't lose her serve in two of her three matches, and didn't drop a set in any of them either.
Rybakina's poor luck with her health continued as an illness impeded her as soon as the grass season commenced. She couldn't defend her Italian Open title earlier this year due to an illness as well.
Rybakina and Ruse have wildly contrasting results at Wimbledon. The former won the title here a couple of years ago, while the latter has never been past the first round.
Ruse is currently ranked outside the top 150. The last time Rybakina lost to a player ranked that low was when the World No. 131 Clara Burel upset her in the first round of the 2022 US Open.
However, the Kazakh has been a lot more consistent since then. Despite the concerns related to her health, she should be able to fend off any challenge from Ruse to advance further.
Pick: Elena Rybakina to win in straight sets.