“Now I’m a bit out of this party and the girls have made the Big Two in the meantime,” laughed the Belarusian on Tuesday when answering questions from journalists in Madrid.
At the previous tournament in Stuttgart, Rybakinová together with Šwiateková performed an attractive semi-final match, from which the representative of Kazakhstan emerged as the winner.
“We have already played together six times, I have a 4:2 lead in each other’s matches. But it was pretty balanced every time,” recounts Rybakinová, who eventually took control of the entire company in Germany. “It’s hard to play against Iza, but I guess I like her style. We both try to play aggressive tennis,” adds the tennis player, who has already won three trophies out of five final appearances this year.
“I’m showing more consistent performances and I’m trying to build on them.” Although her name is being mentioned more and more often these days, her rivals are not far behind either.
Šwiateková already dominated two elite WTA events this year, while Sabalenková reigned supreme at the Australian Open. “And hopefully I’ll be able to succeed here in Madrid too, to keep up with the girls,” she hopes.
Iga Šwiateková of Poland and Aryna Sabalenková of Belarus pose before the start of the semi-finals of the US Open.
But Rybakinová and Šwiateková have similar plans.
“The courts here suit my game, they are faster, the balls fly on them, so I can play aggressively. I’ll see how it will be this year, but I’m looking forward to it and I’m ready to fight,” says Rybakinová. “You never know how the tournament will turn out. It is important to be physically and mentally prepared.”
And he wants to properly prepare for the upcoming Roland Garros. “I had to opt out last year, hopefully I’ll do well there this year.”
Her daughters have the same intentions. After Nadal, Federer and Djokovic, another Big Three is forming. And this time it is made up of women.
