When Elena Rybakina kicked off her 2025 season, things didn’t go according to plan. It was a rocky start, to say the least. Early exits, unwanted controversy, and plenty of chaos along the way. But as the season unfolded, Rybakina found her footing. And she didn’t just recover, she finished with a statement. The Kazakh star ended the year in style, stunning world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at the WTA Finals. With that performance, she quietly but confidently sent a message: she’s arrived, and she’s here to stay.

Her WTA Finals performance even had seasoned observers talking. Former world No 3 Nadia Petrova believes Elena Rybakina will have “every opportunity” to win a Grand Slam singles title in 2026 after a strong end to her 2025 season.

Safe to say, the Kazakh star closed out 2025 with a clear purpose: powerful, focused, and hungry for more. And this time, the 26-year-old isn’t settling for anything less than a Grand Slam title. She’s armed and ready to keep adding more victories to her collection.

Elena Rybakina’s consistency on the court has improved over time

Elena Rybakina reminded everyone why she’s such a force when her confidence clicks into gear. A Wimbledon champion who narrowly missed a second major at the 2023 Australian Open, ended 2025 on a hot streak. Her last loss came in early October against Aryna Sabalenka in the Wuhan quarterfinals, and from then on, she didn’t look back.

She stormed to the Ningbo title, reached the Tokyo semifinals, and that run clinched her place at the WTA Finals. Once there, Rybakina was untouchable, winning all five matches to capture her biggest trophy in three and a half years. That surge came after a rough stretch, with the 26-year-old missing the quarterfinals at every major in 2025 for the first time since 2020.

But she wrapped her year stringing together 11 straight wins to finish strong. After lifting her second title of 2025 in Ningbo, she made the Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals, then withdrew from her semi once she secured Finals qualification. In Cancun, she sealed the season with a superb 6-3, 7-6(0) victory over world No. 1.

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Praising the Kazakh’s comeback, Nadia Petrova mentioned, “I’m very happy that Rybakina was able to rebound and come back. Her hard work, her positive attitude, and her composure are evident. And next year could very well be a breakout year for Elena.”

Petrova added that Rybakina’s “clean technique and great feel for the ball” could push her toward another Grand Slam and maybe even challenge Sabalenka.

Her ball striking and aggressive baseline play make her dangerous

If there’s one thing Elena Rybakina’s weaponized better than almost anyone, it’s her serve. The WTA Finals became her masterclass in precision. She finished 2025 with a staggering 516 aces, the highest total of any player this season and the biggest single-year haul since Karolina Pliskova’s 530 in 2016. That kind of serving rhythm makes her nearly untouchable when it clicks.

“That’s one of the great weapons in modern tennis, that serve of hers,” said Jon Wertheim on the ‘Served with Andy Roddick’ podcast. “People will see that [6-3 7-6(0) win over Sabalenka in the WTA Finals] scoreline, and they’ll say, ‘oh she beat Sabalenka in a tiebreaker, that doesn’t happen very often’. What happened in the 20 or so minutes before that is worth going back and watching if you have a chance. That serve bailed her out of so many potentially problematic situations.”

Roddick didn’t disagree. “I do think that Rybakina has the best serve in women’s tennis. It seems like when you say [longstanding WTA top three] Gauff and Iga and Sabalenka, and you slot Rybakina into that conversation… none of them want to play her.” His point rings true, as she has won 10 of her last 12 matches against top-10 players and is riding a four-match streak against the top five.

The smooth finish to 2025 hides a bumpy start. For months, results just wouldn’t come. She didn’t contest a final until May and even slipped to world No. 13 by July. But when her rhythm returned, it stayed.

Rybakina’s determination and grit set her apart

Elena Rybakina’s road through 2025 was anything but smooth. The 26-year-old battled lingering health issues through 2024 and faced a tense spell with coach Stefano Vukov after his WTA suspension early this year. He was cleared to return in August, and from then on, the Kazakh locked in. She finished strong with 28 wins in the season’s final four months, climbed back into the top five, and heads into 2026 on an 11-match tear.

“All that happened this week, I can bring to the next season,” Rybakina told wtatennis.com at the WTA Finals. “It gives me so much more motivation to work even more because we did good progress in the little blocks between the tournaments. Physically, even when I wasn’t at my best, we did a good job.”

That confident tone matched her performance in Riyadh. At the WTA Finals, Rybakina bulldozed through the top two players to capture her biggest trophy of the year. The win reminded everyone of her poise under pressure. Her last major final came at the 2023 Australian Open, but her mindset now feels lighter, sharper, and built to last.

“I’ve experienced winning a Slam [at Wimbledon 2022], losing in a final to Aryna [Australian Open 2023] … each match like this brings so much experience and this time it went my way, everything worked,” she said. “I’ll try to carry every positive thing from this tournament into my next big matches.”

It’s been three years since that Melbourne showdown, and expectations around her have only grown. She’ll start 2026 at the Brisbane International, a WTA 500 event where she lifted the title in 2024 after crushing Sabalenka in the final.

Elena Rybakina skipped it last year for the United Cup, but this time she arrives with confidence soaring and her serve humming. What do you think? Will she make a big splash in the next season?