Rybakina went viral two years after she just clutched her fist after winning Wimbledon.
Elena Rybakina had a funny moment during her Wimbledon post-match press conference on Monday, telling the reports there may come a day when she will throw up a crazy celebration on the court.
As you already probably know extremely well, Rybakina went viral two years ago over the way she celebrated becoming a Grand Slam at 2022 Wimbledon. Moments after ousting Ons Jabeur to lift her first Grand Slam title at 23, Rybakina clinched her first – went to the net to shake the Tunisian’s hand – and then calmly sat on her bench waiting for the on-court trophy presentation.
Almost always, players erupt in celebration after winning a Grand Slam, especially the first Slam or after earning a Wimbledon title because winning The Championships is usually a childhood dream of every player. But in Rybakina’s case, she pretty much reacted as if nothing big happened.
Since then, Rybakina has been asked about that moment numerous times but would early on shrug it off by simply acknowledging that she was not the type of person who was prone to showing too much emotion or passion. However, she made it clear to everyone many times that inside she definitely feels emotions and goes through ups and downs like everyone else.
And after overcoming Anna Kalinskaya to return to the Wimbledon quarterfinal for a third year in a row and come three wins away from winning it all at The Championships again, Rybakina was asked if there would ever be a day when she would “roar” or throw “an enormous celebration” on the court.
“I honestly don’t know. I think it depends a lot on the match and how it goes. For now I didn’t have any crazy celebrations. So maybe one day, you’ll see you guys,” Rybakina said after the match.
Rybakina doesn’t want to get too much into all the favorite talk
After Aryna Sabalenka pulled out of Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury, Iga Swiatek lost in the third round while Coco Gauff exited in the round-of-16 and that Rybakina was the only player remaining in the draw of the four top favorites for the title.
But Rybakina – who plays against Elina Svitolina for a place in the semifinal – doesn’t want to think or talk too much about that.
“Well I don’t really think about this when I go on the court. Of course it gives more confidence but no matter what, there are still a lot of good players. I don’t really think about it so much,” Rybakina said.
While the Kazakh likes to hear that people think so highly of her, she underlines that she cannot allow herself to underestimate anyone.
“It feels good of course if people think so (smiling). It’s still far to go to the final. Still a lot of matches in front. As I always say, it’s just match by match and we will see how it goes. Definitely I want to go far and try to win it.”
The bad news for Rybakina’s competition
When Rybakina won Wimbledon in 2022, she was playing great throughout the tournament and there was no doubt that she deserved the title. This year, the 25-year-old is playing extremely well again but this time she is even more mature and knows how to handle certain things better.
However, the Kazakh admits that she can still nervous at times on the court – but not as much as in the past.
“Well definitely I changed a lot. I got much more experience. Before going further in the draw I was pretty nervous in 2022. Now I feel just more confidence playing match by match. It is different but at the same time when you go on the court you’re still nervous a little bit,” Rybakina explained.
“Now with all the experiences I just enjoy much more on the court. If I’m nervous now it’s just a few games, not like it was in 2022 when I played against Ons and it was a full set where I just couldn’t manage my emotions. I was too nervous. And then slowly, slowly I started to feel better.”
Meanwhile, Rybakina now owns an impressive 19-2 record at Wimbledon, which gives her a 90 percent winning rate at The Championships in singles in the Open Era. By accomplishing that, she joined an impressive list that features only Steffi Graf and Ann Jones.
“I didn’t know about these stats. I know I’ve been winning a lot on grass. But it’s nice to be next to these names with these statistics. I think it’s great to be there and really happy I’m showing good tennis on grass,” Rybakina said.