Eurosport experts Mats Wilander and Laura Robson have tipped Elena Rybakina to ‘make 10 Grand Slam finals’ after reaching her first Australian Open final.
The 23-year-old reigning Wimbledon champion defeated Victoria Azarenka in straight sets in the semi-finals to keep her dream of a second major alive, and having dropped just one set throughout the entirety of the tournament, there’s no doubting her form.
According to Wilander, Rybakina’s career is only just getting started as he believes she has both the ‘game and personality’ to make her mark on the WTA Tour.
‘’It’s huge now, but in five years it’s not huge because she’s going to make 10 Grand Slam finals with that kind of game and personality,” said Wilander.
“I mean, she's excited of course, but she’s so calm and mellow in that whole match and the situation that was at Wimbledon, I think she’s just starting out.
‘’I love it. The tournament is not over, it's a semi-final and you feel early on that maybe excited. No, because the goal is to win the tournament and the goal is to win many more of these.’’
Rybakina will face fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka in the final on Saturday and is the favourite to win the title for many despite her being seeded 17 places behind her opponent.
Though Robson thought Rybakina had room for improvement in her performance in the semi-finals, she backed her to win many more majors in the not-too-distant future.
‘’I thought her forehand and first serve were off tonight,’’ Robson said.
‘’It just wasn’t quite the percentages we’re used to seeing from her. But if that’s her on a bad day, that’s a really good sign, to come through in straight sets against Azarenka, who was giving it everything.
“This is going to be one of many Grand Slam finals for Rybakina.’’
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