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AIPROPX ReportBBC Sport · 4h ago
Rybakina makes winning start in race to number one
Elena Rybakina says she is "motivated" by the race to become world number one but is simply taking things "day by day" after getting her US Open campaign off to a winning start.
Playing for the first time since withdrawing midway through her Cincinnati Masters quarter-final with a heel injury last month, Rybakina showed no signs of discomfort as she eased to a dominant 6-3 6-2 win over 17-year-old wildcard Thea Frodin.
The 27-year-old second seed trails Aryna Sabalenka by just 434 points in the world rankings and will become number one for the first time by reaching the semi-finals in New York – even if Sabalenka defends her title.
Regardless of her performance, Rybakina will also secure the top ranking if none of Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula lift the trophy.
"I'm definitely motivated [to become world number one]," said Rybakina, who trailed Sabalenka by more than 3,000 points in the spring before the Belarusian entered a mid-season slump.
"I feel like I had opportunities before and it didn't go my way. It will be an amazing achievement but it's still too far and I need to focus on my day off tomorrow, my recovery, and just keep on going."
Fighting to stay No 1 - Sabalenka's US Open mission
Though she looked comfortable on court, her movement went largely untested by Frodin - who acted as Serena Williams' body double in the Oscar-nominated film 'King Richard' - as she blew the world number 585 away on serve and dictated points from the baseline.
"We didn't know if [I was] going to be able to play here or not. I'm pretty happy that I'm playing right now, and we are taking [it] day by day," Rybakina said about her injury.
"I was not playing for the full week [before the tournament], so seven days no tennis and basically not too much gym I could do movement-wise.
"So it's a great result after 10 days from that kind of injury."
After opening the rain-delayed match with a double fault, Rybakina proved relentless on serve, dropping just three points and reeling off three consecutive love holds in the first set.
She didn't face a break point until the sixth game of the second set, saving both.
Equally clinical in Frodin's service games, she converted her first three break points to race into a set and 5-1 lead.
However, the young wildcard, making her WTA Tour main-draw debut after winning the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Girls' 18s National Championship, made Rybakina work to get over the line, saving three match points with aces in her final service game among 11 across the match.
Rybakina served out the win with an ace of her own – her sixth of the match and a tour-leading 363rd of the season.
"She played really well today. She has great shots, great serve, it was no easy," Rybakina said of the largely unknown Frodin.
Serena Williams is set for a rematch with Maya Joint, who beat the American great in three sets on her singles return at Wimbledon in June, in the women's doubles.
Williams, partnering her sister Venus at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2022, has been drawn against Australian Joint and Chan Hao-chingof Taiwan.
The Williams sisters, who were awarded a wildcard to compete in New York, won 14 double titles together between 1999 and 2016, including two US Opens.
They were due to renew their partnership at Wimbledon but Serena picked up a knee injury in her 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 first-round defeat by Joint.
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