Elena Rybakina, a 23-year-old who represents Kazakhstan, reached her second final in a span of three major tournaments by beating Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (4), 6-3 at Melbourne Park on Thursday, signaling a rapid rise toward the top of tennis.
Rybakina’s win over Azarenka, the champion at Melbourne Park in 2012 and 2013, added to what already was an impressive run through a string of top opponents. She also beat No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 17 Jelena Ostapenko — both owners of major titles — and 2022 Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins.
She delivered serves at up to 117 mph and stinging groundstrokes that she used to close points seemingly at will on Thursday. Her performance was particularly noteworthy against a returner and defender as established on hard courts as Azarenka, a former No. 1 and a three-time runner-up at the U.S. Open.Rybakina is just 23, 10 years younger than Azarenka, and the future sure looks bright at the moment.
Rybakina was born in Moscow; she switched to Kazakhstan in 2018, when that country offered to fund her tennis career. That had a role in the way the first set was as much of a seesaw as can be, with each player seeming to gain the upper hand — and then ceding it just as quickly. Both found the conditions slowed down the tennis balls.Rybakina encountered similar issues and her occasional inconsistency was encapsulated by the very first game. She began, inauspiciously enough, with a double-fault, before holding with the help of three aces.
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