Elena Rybakina achieves another milestone, Kazakh star finally gets driver's license

Former World No.3 Elena Rybakina has another reason to celebrate; after leading her native Kazakhstan to victory at the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, the 25-year old revealed she had finally obtained her driver's license.

Kazakhstan faced Australia in the first round-robin tie, with Rybakina defeating Kimberly Birrell 6-3, 7-6(4) to clinch the tie following Yulia Putintseva's 6-2, 6-1 victory over Maya Joint. It was after Rybakina's match that she broke the news of getting her driver's license.

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Rybakina acting as team chauffeur 

The former Wimbledon champion can now finally drive the Porsche she won at last year's Stuttgart Open. Rybakina defeated two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, before taking out Marta Kostyuk to lift her third career clay court title.

Although Rybakina opted to represent her country at the Billie Jean King Cup instead of defending her title in Stuttgart, she had joked that winning the car would act as "double motivation" for her to get her driver's license.

"The driving's going pretty well," said Rybakina after her victory over Birrell. "I got my license so I've been going around with the team, dropping and taking everybody, so I'm kind of a driver.
"But yeah it feels amazing and I'm super excited for the achievement of last year in Stuttgart."

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