Elena Rybakina doesn’t need much time to get into her groove, does she? After a not-so-good finish to the 2023 season, she began this year on a powerful note, winning the Brisbane International title. She then went on to win another title at Abu Dhabi. Ahead of her summit clash at the Miami Open, Rybakina made an interesting revelation about how she got into tennis. While her sister clearly said that she ‘didn’t like’ tennis, how did Rybakina’s X factor make her ultimately choose the game?

The 24-year-old didn’t have tennis as her first career choice. She used to do ice skating and gymnastics before venturing into tennis. Here’s what she had to say about her introduction to tennis.

Elena Rybakina left other sports because of her height

Early on during her childhood, Rybakina was a talented gymnast. However, her coaches cited that she was too tall for the sport. She even tried her hand at ice skating but found similar issues. Subsequently, the athlete in her didn’t die as her father asked her to pursue tennis. Rybakina found an instant connection with the sport, and this time, her height acted as a boon to her.

During an interview with Daily Mail, she talked about how she started playing tennis. Rybakina said, “My dad liked tennis, and had played a bit when he was in his early 20s. He thought it would be fun but when we went my sister said straight away that she didn’t like it. I liked it from the start, even though it was tough going there without my sister.”

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Although Rybakina has had a good start to the season, she suffered a heartbreaking loss at the Australian Open. Subsequently, she revealed what went wrong for her and how she planned to bounce back.

Rybakina is confident of a good 2024 season

The former Wimbledon champion suffered a tough loss in the second round of this year’s Australian Open. She lost the deciding set against Anna Blinkova in the tiebreaker 7-6 (22-20). After her defeat, she explained the reason behind her loss.

Rybakina revealed, “In Melbourne, it was a tough first round and I had some issues after that match, which was a bit unlucky but that’s tennis. The season has only just started and there is still the whole year, so we will see how it goes.” 

The Kazakh tennis star will face the home favorite, Danielle Collins, in the summit clash of the Miami Open later today. It’ll be interesting to see if she can lift the title here.

Miami Open 2024 Final: Elena Rybakina vs Danielle Collins Preview, Head-to-Head, and Prediction