Madrid (Spain) – Kazakh Elena Rybakina said goodbye to the WTA 1000 in Madrid last Thursday with a tough upset suffered in the semi-final against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. Despite her frustration with the negative result, the current number 4 in the world leaves the tournament satisfied, especially looking at her start to the season on clay courts.
“Without a doubt, the start of the clay circuit is very good. Despite the defeat today, I think I played very well. I’m very happy with my level and the way I feel physically on the court. Now it will be important to take a few days off and then try to get used to the conditions in Rome, because the ball is very different there”, analyzed Rybakina.
WTA 500 champion in Stuttgart, the Kazakh hasn’t lost on clay since falling on her debut in Madrid last season. After that, she won the title at the WTA 1000 in Rome and won two more games at Roland Garros, where she didn’t even enter the court for the third round, withdrawing from the tournament due to respiratory problems.
Rybakina even arrives to defend her title at Foro Itálico knowing that the off-court factor could be a complication for her. “I usually suffer from allergies in Rome. Last year I was lucky because it rained a lot, but we will see this year”, she concluded, the current fourth place in the WTA rankings.
