2022 Wimbledon Champion Elena Rybakina turns 24 on June 17, 2023; she shares her birthday with tennis legend Venus Williams.
Rybakina was the runner-up at the Australian Open and had to pull out of the French Open with a viral illness.
Can she become a repeat champion at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club next month?
Here are the reasons she has a good chance to go back-to-back.
1. She Is The Third Seed
Rybakina has finally jumped up in the rankings and is where she rightfully belongs, at No. 3.
Because Wimbledon did not count the points last year, she did not get the ranking leap she normally would have.
That meant that as a lower-ranked player, she had tougher early-round matches.
As the third seed, the question will be whose draw will she be in as Iga Swiatek, the No. 1 seed will be in one half and Aryna Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed will be in the other half.
Happy birthday to #Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina! 🎂
The World No. 3 has risen 18 ranking spots in the past year 📈 pic.twitter.com/WmMkyD7y43
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 17, 2023
2. She Has Recent Experience And Success
Aryna Sabalenka was not allowed to play at Wimbledon last year because of the tournament’s stand on the Ukrainian war.
Neither were her Russian counterparts.
With a year away and a short grass-court warm-up season, it is unclear how these players will perform especially in the early rounds of the tournament.
Rybakina should be confident because she did not have to endure all of that and performed well last year.
3. Her Game Continues To Improve
Some would argue that Wimbledon was her breakthrough and that she has played better ever since.
She was in a tight Australian Open final that ultimately went Aryna Sabalenka’s way.
Rybakina defeated both Swiatek and Sabalenka on her path to a WTA 1000 tour win at Indian Wells.
🇰🇿 Elena the Elite 🇰🇿
On her fifth attempt, Rybakina scores a first career win against Sabalenka 7-6(11), 6-4 to claim a maiden Indian Wells title!#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/5gLRNeRXGW
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 19, 2023
She nearly backed it up with a Sunshine Double but lost in the Miami Open finals to Petra Kvitova.
For all these reasons, Rybakina has a great chance to become a back-to-back Wimbledon Champion.
Presumably, she is back at full strength after dealing with the virus in Paris because if not, that could be a challenge for her especially in the early rounds.
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