Elena Rybakina has expressed gratitude to her parents for supporting her professional tennis career after the player’s initial sporting dreams had to change.
The World No. 4 has experienced a lot of success this season on the WTA Tour, reaching the final of the Australian Open, winning two WTA 1000 titles at the Indian Wells and Italian Open, and qualifying for the WTA Finals in Cancun. This came after Rybakina won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2022.
Despite difficult court conditions at the WTA Finals, Rybakina was able to pull off a win against Maria Sakkari, 6-0, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2), although defeats against Jessica Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka meant that she did not advance from the Group Stage.
Rybakina praises parent’s decision
The 24-year-old was born in Russia but switched to represent Kazakhstan in 2018. As a young child, she dreamed of being a gymnast or a figure skater, both of which are very popular sports in Russia. However, she was ultimately deemed too tall to pursue the sports professionally. This was when her father suggested tennis, as he was a huge fan of the sport himself.
Rybakina was part of Kazakhstan’s team at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals this week, although she did not end up playing a match as the team was eliminated prior to the semi-finals. Nevertheless, she spoke to press there about her parents’ positive influence on her career.
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“My parents they did a really good decision and helped me a lot. When I was young I knew I was going to be a professional so it was quite easy on me. I think I had a normal childhood with school and friends. My mom is someone who I look up to, and sometimes there are tough moments and tough decisions, my parents and her especially she is the one who helped me a lot,” she said.
Rybakina is also often accompanied by her elder sister Anna at tournaments. The latter was seen watching her sister’s matches in Cancun last week.