The incredible confession of Elena Rybakina before battling for the number one spot

Surely you will think of thousands of things, although the most important one always ends up being the most rational. Although today we see Elena Rybakina among the eight best players in this US Open 2026, the reality is that she was not far from being out of the tournament.

That injury that accompanied her until the last moment almost ruined her chance to fight for something so beautiful, but in the end, fate lent her a hand to not ruin her celebration. Now it is easy to remember that moment as an anecdote, although the Kazakh still keeps it very much in mind and prefers to hold on to caution until the last moment. Of course, she is the first to know what is at stake the next day when she steps onto the court to face Qinwen Zheng.

Without proper preparation, results still come

“The preparation was not very good. I spent seven days without playing and couldn't do much in the gym, especially regarding movement, so we had to take it day by day. It's an incredible progress and I am very happy with how everything has turned out. We didn't even know if I was going to be able to play. I have a great team and also a good doctor on the phone all the time. I am very happy with how everything has gone.”

Rybakina analyzes her victory over Naomi Osaka

“I played very well. Everything was coming together for me. I was hitting some lines and playing very deep. I’m very happy because many things worked for me today. I would say speed is important, but placement is even more important. Today I had both. I knew she is also a very aggressive player and can serve well, so I had to concentrate a lot on my serve.”

Qinwen Zheng, the last obstacle to becoming number one

“I haven't watched all her matches yet, but she has definitely found her form and is playing with a lot of confidence after so many consecutive victories. She is very dangerous. We have played before, so I know it will be a very tough match. Of course, I will focus on myself and I will try to serve well. If I can serve the same way as today, that will be great.”

Being No. 1 is not the main goal for Rybakina

“I never want to miss tournaments. No matter where I go, I want to win, of course. Number 1 is one of the goals, but I think the main goal for me and for the team is to win titles, and then the ranking will come. We take it match by match, but obviously, we want to win titles and tournaments. That is the main goal.”

Rybakina admits she was close to not playing in the US Open

“It was not easy. I was stressed during that week without being able to train, especially the first few days when I arrived and we had to test my foot and all that. But I have a good team and they were convinced of what we needed to do and how to take the necessary steps to be able to play. It wasn't easy, but I am very happy to be here. I'm in the quarterfinals, so that is already an incredible achievement. Now we just take it day by day, and I hope I can stay here until the end.”

The two keys to recovering her best version

“I would say it is confidence, but also work. Before this tournament, I couldn't train that much, but we did good preparation before coming to the United States. We talked a lot about what I needed to improve. Even without being able to spend many hours on the court, we kept discussing what I could do better and where we could improve. Through those conversations and repetitions, you can find the moment. That is what happened today, and I hope to maintain it in the next match.”

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La increíble confesión de Elena Rybakina antes de luchar por ser número uno