Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg has expressed his opinion that Elena Rybakina talents are on par with Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, rating her above Coco Gauff. Rothenberg recently discussed the Kazakh’s prowess during a conversation with fellow tennis podcaster Alex Gruskin.
Rybakina began her 2024 season on a high note, winning three WTA 500 titles during the first half of the year. Although she struggled with health concerns, the Kazakh defeated Sabalenka to clinch the Brisbane International title, emerged victorious at the Abu Dhabi Open and triumphed over Swiatek en route to her title win in Stuttgart.However, the World No. 4’s season has been plagued by numerous withdrawals due to recurring fitness issues, forcing her to pull out of events like the Indian Wells Open, Paris Olympics, and US Open. She recently also pulled out of the China Open and the Wuhan Open, bringing her total withdrawals for the year to 10.
Despite her struggles, Elena Rybakina still holds the third spot in the Race to the WTA Finals, trailing only Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka and enjoying a sizeable lead over Coco Gauff in sixth place.During a recent episode of Ben Rothenberg’s No Challenges Remaining podcast, Alex Gruskin hailed the Kazakh as the third-best player in the world, commending her on her stellar showing this season despite the “uncertainties” she has faced.
“Elena Rybakina is the third best player in the world. She’s the one you turn to after Iga, after Aryna. She’s in that number three spot and just all of the uncertainties surrounding her. I mean this is a player who is the last player you would certainly put as a tier one contender at any event that she plays. It’s just, can she be healthy for a prolonged stretch of time,” Druskin said.
Rothenberg concurred with Gruskin’s assessment, emphasizing that, at her best, Elena Rybakina performed on par with Swiatek and Sabalenka, more so than Gauff, who was ranked above the Kazakh until the US Open.
“On talent, at her peak ability, Rybakina the one person I think who really does meaningfully hang with Iga and Sabalenka more than Gauff, I think, who’s been up there in the rankings previously. On pure best on best, Rybakina is way up there,” Rothenberg said.
“Elena Rybakina’s best is as good as Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka’s” – Alex Gruskin
During the same podcast, Alex Gruskin opined that Elena Rybakina’s best level matched Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka at their peaks. However, he raised concerns about the Kazakh’s inability to produce that level consistently due to the “unlucky” interruptions in her season.
“If everyone is playing their best, Rybakina’s best is as good as Iga’s and Aryna’s. She’s just so good at tennis that we want her playing her best,” Gruskin said.
“As good as she’s been for the last two and a half years, it feels like we haven’t gotten that six-month run of her playing her best, even if the results say she has because there have been so many starts and stops for so many seemingly random and at times unlucky reasons,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ben Rothenberg expressed his desire to see the World No. 4 return to being a consistent and “happy” presence on tour after overcoming her health struggles and moving past her recent split with coach Stefano Vukov.
“I don’t know what’s going on but hopefully she’s doing well and getting the help she needs. Hopefully she can return to being a top player again and a consistent presence and a happy presence on court,” he said.
Gruskin and Rothenberg’s assessment about Elena Rybakina matching the talents of Swiatek and Sabalenka is not surprising, given that the Kazakh has frequently been included in the discussions of the ‘WTA Big 3’ alongside the duo, over Coco Gauff.
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