The world number 5 experienced a rollercoaster in early 2025 and struggled with her results, but ended her season on a high after winning her first WTA Finals title.
“She had a great end to the season beating Sabalenka in the final,” Rusedski said on his podcast.
The start of the 2025 season was dramatic for Rybakina, who was not allowed to have Stefano Vukov in her team as the WTA investigated the Croatian coach for a possible violation of the conduct policy. Goran Ivanisevic was not happy with the fact that the Kazakh wanted to return Vukov to her team and left after the Australian Open.
Vukov was eventually banned for a year and Rybakina continued to struggle with her consistency over the next few months. However, after a successful appeal, the Croatian coach returned to the Tour in August. That did wonders for the Kazakh, who won Ningbo and the WTA Finals, but also returned to the top 10.
Rusedski noted that the former world number 3 looked like a completely different player at the end of 2025, which is why he thinks the 26-year-old will be a top contender for the biggest titles in 2026.
Rusedski: Rybakina is the best tip to win Wimbledon
“Since then, her results have improved dramatically and I think with that partnership she will go from strength to strength and challenge for Majors. I wouldn’t be surprised if she won the Australian Open, but I think she is the top tip to win Wimbledon this year just because of her power play and everything she has been through in 2025. She seems to be back to her best,” the 1997 US Open finalist added.
In 2022, Rybakina was outside the top 20 when she became Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon. She also came close to winning her second Wimbledon title in 2024 when she reached the semi-finals before losing to Barbora Krejcikova.
At the Australian Open, Rybakina is a former runner-up after losing the 2023 final to Aryna Sabalenka.
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