The 25-year-old Russian-born tennis player Elena Rybakina made history as the first Kazakhstani player to reach a major final at Wimbledon. Formerly dubbed as a clay-court specialist, Elena is known for her destructive attacks which has made her one of the best serve on the women’s tour.
While growing up, Elena Rybakina and her sister, Anna started participating in sports such as gymnastics and ice skating. She started playing tennis at the age of six.
Elena Rybakina is from Kazakhstan
Elena Andreyevna Rybakina was born on June 17, 1999 in Moscow, Russia. Her parents Abdrey and Ekaterina Rybakina raised her and her older sister, Anna in Russia before they later moved to Kazakhstan.
During her formative years, Elena participated in several sports but excelled in gymnastics and ice skating. However, she later switched to playing tennis after she was told she was too tall to become a professional in either of those sports.
With the help of her father, Elena began playing tennis at the age of six before she moved to the Dynamo Sports Club to the Spartax Tennis Club to be trained by several accomplished coaches. Some of her coaches were former top 10 player, Andrey Chesnokov and former top-100 player Evgenia Kulikovskaya.
The Kazakhstani tennis player attended a regular high school hence the need to balance playing tennis with schoolwork.
After high school, she got several offers to universities in America but she wanted to keep playing tennis instead.
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Meet Her Family Members
Elena’s father Andrey Rybakina is a professional volleyball player. He reportedly tried to play tennis when he was in his 20s.
When she was six, he was the one that introduced her to the game after noticing her potential.
He has been an obvious inspiration to his daughters especially sports-wise. As for Ekaterina, Elena’s mother, there are sources that claim she played tennis professionally in the 1990s. However, this has not be verified yet.
The player’s older sister, Anna Rybakina is also athletic as well. However, she does not play professionally like Elena. Anna’s Instagram bio states that she is now a digital creator. She been decribed as a dramatic sister due to her theatrical behaviours during Elena’s games. Anna specifically gained attention of the public at the 2023 Indian Wells Open and the 2023 Italian Open.
According to reports, Elena once revealed how appreciative she was of her family’s support and sacrifice.
Elena Rybakina’s Nationality
The 25-year-old tennis player changed her citizenship to Kazakhstan after the Kazakhstan federation made her an offer to study and also play tennis.
Other Quick Facts about Elena Rybakina
- Elena Rybakina has a career-high ranking of No.12 by the Women’s Tennis Association.
- She became the first Kazakhstani player in the top 15 to ever reach a major final at Wimbledon. She is also the current Kazakhstani female No.1 player in singles.
- Elena has also reached eight finals on the WTA Tour including three at the WTA 500 level, winning to titles.
- Known for her powerful serve, Elena is capable of dishing out destructive attacks from the baseline. In addition to that, her hitting ability and strong forehands has made her one of the toughest and hard-hitting players.
- Her tennis idols are Roger Federer and Justine Henin.
