© Getty Images Sport – Quinn Rooney
Elena Rybakina has learned her projected path to winning Tokyo as the Kazakh is set to play her first tournament since surprisingly losing in the US Open third round. In Tokyo, Rybakina received a potentially tricky opener as she is set to play rising Czech star Linda Noskova.
In the Tokyo round-of-16, Rybakina could meet Donna Vekic, who upset her in Berlin during the grass season. In the Tokyo quarterfinal, Rybakina is projected to meet seventh-seeded Liudmila Samsonova. Then, there could be a major matchup in the Tokyo semifinal as Rybakina is likely to clash against Iga Swiatek.
Should Rybakina make the Tokyo final, the star names that she could meet there include Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari and Caroline Garcia. Meanwhile, Rybakina is the third-seeded player but won’t have a first-round bye at the tournament due to the WTA’s trialing of performance byes.
Instead, Sakkari and Garcia – who are ranked below Rybakina but made the Guadalajara semifinal last week – were granted top-4 seedings. After beating Garcia in the semifinal, Sakkari also won her Guadalajara final match.
Elena Rybakina WON’T receive a first-round bye in Tokyo as WTA Tour is trialing performances…
