Elena Rybakina’s march through the Australian Open continued with another win. Surpassing Tereza Valentova in 6-2, 6-3 straight sets, the Kazakhstani star booked her place in the round of 16 for just the second time. But despite her results, Rybakina remained unsatisfied.

When asked about her level of performance over the tournament, Rybakina offered a candid self assessment: “Well, I feel that for now it’s not my best tennis yet.”

“Hopefully, I can show it each match I play, slowly trying to work on some things. Not every day is the same, but, yeah, hoping for better confidence also on the matches. But for now, I think a lot of things are also working,” she added.

Rybakina faced early trouble in both sets, as she lost her serve at the very start each time. Yet, as she has done so often on the big stages, Rybakina responded with authority. 

She made sure to reset quickly with her ruthless ability to overcome early setbacks and started dictating rallies by putting the pressure on Valentova. She won three breaks in set 1 to wrest back control and won five out of the next 6 games in set 2, ensuring a straightforward end to the match

But despite what could have been a more clinical and efficient display against Valentova, Rybakina was satisfied with the win: “I’m happy with the win, definitely. Today was a lot of tight games, I’m happy that I was focused, and I’m happy to be in the next round.”

She next faces Belgium’s Elise Mertens in the round of 16. Sharing her thoughts on her rival, she stated, “A tough opponent. We just played a couple of months ago, and I think the most important for me is to focus on my game, stay aggressive and, yeah, we’ll see what’s going to happen.”

While she is trying to be aggressive on the court, there’s been one thing that has been constantly missing from her game. That is, her post-victory celebrations.

Will Elena Rybakina continue her zen ways even if she wins the Australian Open?

Rybakina is not known to be an emotional player. At least, not while on the court. Despite her surge to the top, Rybakina has seldom shown her emotions. Even after her grueling three set victory over Ons Jabeur to win Wimbledon in 2022, Rybakina cut a calm and composed figure.

Instead, Rybakina punched the air, shook hands with her opponent, and calmly waited for her trophy. While her reaction, or lack thereof, created ripples, the Kazakhstani star confirmed that she’s not one for outward expressions of emotion.

“I’m generally a calm person. On the court, you can see that I don’t have many emotions… If something goes wrong, I will not show it. Even if it is good, I’m not going to scream, ‘Come on,’ or some other things. But, inside, of course, there are a lot of emotions and nerves, and everything…” said Rybakina last month.

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Now, following her confirmation into the round of 16, Rybakina is looking dangerous and set to continue her late-season surge last year that led her to win the year-end finals. While Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are considered favorites for the title in Melbourne, Rybakina can never be counted out.

Rest assured, if Elena Rybakina does go all the way, she’ll do it with that same composed demeanor.