“The return was not going well, but then it was a matter of time, I was each game [getting] closer,” Rybakina said. “Some mistakes here and there, but it’s [the] first match, hopefully I’m just going to play better and better.”
At AO 2025, Rybakina fell to eventual champion Madison Keys in the fourth round, a result that preceded a solid season in which she captured three titles including the coveted WTA Finals crown in Riyadh.
If she can live up to her seeding, the Kazakh star is projected to reach next week’s quarterfinals. Rybakina must first earn a third career win over second-round opponent Varvara Gracheva and will be buoyed by confidence from having never lost more than three games in a set against the Frenchwoman.
