"I fought until the end": Elena Rybakina reflects on difficult WTA Finals debut after defeat to Aryna Sabalenka

Elena Rybakina has reflected on her difficult debut at the 2023 WTA Finals in "not the best" conditions. This came after her defeat to Aryna Sabalenka in the Group Stage in Cancun which saw her miss out on a place in the semi-finals.

World No. 4 Rybakina has not had an easy time when it comes to the WTA Finals. Despite winning Wimbledon in 2022, she failed to qualify for last year's edition in Forth Worth, Texas. This was because she didn't earn any points for her Grand Slam victory due to the grasscourt major having banned Russian and Belarusian players.

Nevertheless, she successfully qualified for the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico. However, upon arriving at the prestigious season-ending championships, she and several other players were disappointed by the conditions of the courts and the venue.

Cancun was selected as the location for the Finals in September, after which the WTA announced that it would spend $6 million on building a new stadium. Yet, as players began to arrive ahead of the tournament, construction work remained unfinished. Ultimately, they were unable to access the Estadio Paradisus until the day before the event got underway, and problems with the courts quickly became clear. 

Rybakina was among the most vocal to speak out about the conditions.

"I don’t feel like I can show everything I have on the court. You’re kind of limited with the things you can do with such conditions. I feel like if you have a tight game on your serve, you can be stressed with a rally when you don’t know how the ball is going to bounce.

"You don’t know what to expect. Not much is under your control," she said after her group-stage win against Maria Sakkari.

Rybakina was then eliminated from the competition following her defeat to Sabalenka in her final group-stage match. The clash was full of problems, including a ball being blown away by the wind as the Kazakhstani player attempted to serve before play was delayed due to rain just as Rybakina was about to serve for the second set.

After the match, the 24-year-old admitted that her debut had been tough due to the conditions, but thanked the crowd in Cancun for their support.

"Maybe it wasn't the best conditions, but I know I fought until the end. I am very grateful to all the fans who supported us throughout the week. The public here is really very special," she said.