Rybakina confesses what her priority will be from now on

Although it may not have been the celebration of all time, we must recognize that this US Open 2026 has given us a more outgoing Elena Rybakina than usual. We saw it on the court and also in the press room, where she said goodbye to the tournament a few minutes ago in her last conference.

Elena Rybakina needed almost two hours to fulfill all the obligations that come with winning a Grand Slam. If we are in New York and talking about the woman who will burst to the top of the rankings next Monday, media interviews multiply. Luckily, the Kazakh has a great disposition for these things, and at no moment will the role of US Open champion feel too big for her. We listened to her words in the press room before heading to her next destination.

Rybakina, lost for words after winning the US Open

“It’s incredible. It’s still very hard to process what has happened. Too many achievements in these last few weeks. I’m super happy, very proud of all the work. It’s hard to find the words right now, but I’m super happy. I feel that the match was very even. Even in the first set, I got an early break, and then it was a little easier to come in and be aggressive. In the second, we were going game by game, both holding our serves. I feel she played those important moments in a more aggressive way, she simply went for the shots. I had a few small opportunities and made a couple of mistakes, but in the third set, I told myself I could still do it. I needed to focus on my serve and take a few more risks when I had the opportunity.”

How Rybakina will celebrate her rise to No. 1

“It’s going to be very different waking up the next morning knowing you just won the US Open and that you’ve achieved the number 1 in the world. It’s like a release because you have been doing the same routines for the last two or three weeks. It’s a lot of work, also a lot of nerves. Yes, I think it’s going to be amazing to wake up knowing you’ve achieved such great things.”

A matter of confidence, something Rybakina never lacked

“Yes, of course, I always believed it was possible. We’ve had great results. Obviously, not all years are the same. I won Wimbledon in 2022. After that, I was not winning Grand Slams, but I played the Australian Open final the following year. I feel we were always there. Of course, along your journey, you learn a lot, many things happen. I feel I now have a great team, great people around me, and we just keep working. Finally, everything has paid off, and I am super happy, very proud. It’s never easy, even now I finish here, rest, celebrate, and then the tournaments keep coming. You have to play; you have to compete against the same players, and you have to keep giving your best. Yes, it’s an incredible journey, and I hope I can stay at the top for as long as possible.”

Her serve was key again

“I was thinking about that and that I really needed to improve the percentage of my first serves. It wasn’t working, but I kept trying to choose a spot and, at least, do a little more with my second serve. There were a couple of double faults here and there, but I had a sort of plan in my head, and I just stuck to it. Then, in the important moments, my serve improved and helped me a lot.”

Rybakina thanks the rivalry she has with Sabalenka

“I don’t know what the future holds for us, but matches against Aryna are always very tough, and I feel that we push each other to be better after such hard battles. Yes, I feel that not only with her, but also with other great players, you always want to try something new, change something in your game, and be better. I don’t know what the future holds for us, but I hope there is success and some more victories.”

Reconciliation with New York, where she had never played well

“I came here for the first time ten years ago as a junior, and it was already an amazing place for me. It was very loud, very different from other places. Honestly, after winning Wimbledon, a lot happened that year. I think especially here, it doesn’t matter what court you play on, it’s always full. There’s always an incredible atmosphere. For some reason, New York had not been my best place to play tennis in recent years, but that has definitely changed now, and I hope that next time I come, I can maintain it until the end.”

From almost withdrawing from the US Open... to ending up as champion

“It wasn’t the best moment, for sure, because I was very upset. I really didn’t know how I would be day by day. We arrived in New York, did an MRI, and it didn’t look good. We had to talk to many doctors to get their opinions on what we should do. I was lucky to have a very good doctor. She is in Australia, and she was on the phone with us the whole time, and somehow, along with the team, we made a plan and stuck to it, talking every day about what we could do. For seven days, I just went from my hotel room to the gym, spending three hours there, doing a lot of recovery and treatments. We also went out to dinner a couple of times to clear my head a bit. The first day we arrived, I think we went to the movies. After that, I just kept working, although unfortunately not on the court.”

Elena Rybakina confesses what her goal will be from now on

“The main priority, as I said before, is that I’m not getting any younger, so trying to stay healthy and choose my schedule and training process wisely. Of course, the goal is always the most important tournaments; you want to win them, so Grand Slams, and just trying to find balance, trying to be stable. We’ll see what happens, but there is definitely still a lot of work to be done. The work never ends, to be honest.”

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Rybakina confiesa cuál será su prioridad a partir de ahora