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Elena Rybakina revealed the post-Wimbledon win period was extremely difficult for her because she was battling self-doubts and just “did not feel like a top player.” In the summer of 2022 – just a few weeks after turning 23 – Rybakina became a Grand Slam champion after beating Ons Jabeur in the Wimbledon final.
Going into the 2022 Wimbledon edition, Rybakina wasn’t really mentioned among the favorites for the title. At the time of her Wimbledon win, Rybakina was ranked in the mid-20s, and since the WTA penalized Wimbledon by removing all ranking points, the Kazakh stayed ranked there after The Championships.
In the next couple of WTA 1000 tournaments and the 2022 US Open, Rybakina was getting her matches scheduled for outside courts and she didn’t do particularly well. “It wasn’t easy to overcome this win. Of course after winning a title you’re like ‘Wow.
I hope it wasn’t by mistake or by luck.’ In my case it was a bit different because I didn’t get the points. On the rest of the tournaments and in another big Grand Slam, I didn’t feel like I was a top player. It’s a lot of expectations from you, a lot of people looking at you, waiting to…