Entering Riyadh, one of the biggest challenges every WTA star had to face was the high-bouncing, fast-paced, altitude courts. But for world No. 6, Elena Rybakina, adapting didn’t take long. To prove her point, the Kazakh only took 57 minutes to defeat world No. 4 hard hitter Amanda Anisimova.

Looking at the two, it was visible that Rybakina was carrying her seven-win momentum from the get-go. In the opening match, she broke Anisimova in the first and ninth games of the match to take the first set smoothly. As the game progressed, it was evident that Rybakina looked the superior force. 

To seal the win, Rybakina broke Anisimova again in the second and sixth games in the second set and demolished the Wimbledon and US Open runner-up 6-3, 6-1. The American was making her debut in the WTA Finals this year, but her dream came crashing down against the 2022 Wimbledon champ.

In the entire match, she had 7 aces and dropped only 4 points on her first serve. Interestingly, before the Asian Swing, she had the toughest time getting into the WTA Finals, hovering over the qualifying line for too long.

While she may have been the last one to qualify, she is also the last player anyone wants to face in Riyadh.

“I think that the tactic is very important because you play against the best players,” Rybakina said in her pre-tournament presser. “Everybody is strong. Everybody has good shots, good serves. I think it’s important. … I had only two days to practice. … It’s not easy to control the ball.”

Rybakina will now take on world No. 2, Iga Swiatek, on November 3. At the same time, Anisimova will return to face Madison Keys the same day from the Serena Williams group. Coincidentally, Swiatek, too, was able to defeat her American opponent 6-1. 6-2 to kick off her campaign for her second WTA Finals trophy.

After the tough road to the WTA Finals, this is quite a turnaround for the Kazakh.

With this win, the 26-year-old has seven consecutive wins. Before this, she won the WTA 500 tournament in Ningbo two weeks ago and made the Tokyo semifinal last week, but pulled out of the tournament versus Linda Noskova. The latter caught some strays her way, but she had a proper reason to give.

Elena Rybakina reasons her Toray Pan Pacific Open withdrawal

After struggling initially, Rybakina went hard and clinched the Ningbo Open title and also reached the semifinals in Tokyo to guarantee her place in Riyadh. Unfortunately, in her attempt to risk it all for the WTA Finals, her health took quite a beating. That is why, soon after securing her WTA qualification, the 26-year-old decided to pull out of the Toray Pan Pacific Open. 

Immediately, the critics came out, lashing out at the World No. 6. Most of them suggested that she should have taken to the court to honor the spirit of the game. However, in reality, Rybakina got the least amount of rest before the gala event in Riyadh. Following her withdrawal due to an alleged back injury, the Kazakh star had only 8 days to prepare for the Finals. 

“It wasn’t an easy trip, that’s for sure. A bit of jet lag. I had a couple of days off. I would say, of course, not the freshest, but think when the competition starts, it doesn’t matter, you try to do your best. Yeah, we will see what’s going to happen,” said the star ahead of Riyadh.

Surely, after the first round, it looked like everything was worth it and worked out perfectly for Rybakina. She is considered to reach at least the semifinals. Now, as she will go against the World No. 2 next, fans are eagerly waiting to see how things pan out.