ITF

ELENA RYBAKINA ITF World Summer 2022 13 When a younger player raises the odd eyebrow with a surprise title, especially when that accolade is on the scale of a Grand Slam, there is a temptation to believe that that individual arrived in front of people's eyes somewhat by magic. Rybakina, however, is a former top junior, whose talent and potential were such that she received a $25,000 ITF-administered Grand Slam Player Grant, financed through the Grand Slam Player Development Programme, in 2019. The premise of the programme and the payment of grants is to encourage and increase competitive opportunities for players from developing tennis nations, and Rybakina was grateful for the helping hand. "It was so unexpected, because neither me nor my parents knew about these things," she said. "But when we understood that we had this opportunity, it of course helped a lot, and it was really nice because nobody in my family really expected this help. It was so important." Indeed, Rybakina is a player who is rooted in the ITF player pathway, reaching a career-high No. 3 in the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings in December 2017 and contesting several flagship ITF tournaments. The 2015 Junior Billie Jean King Cup Finals and the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu two years later are among her back catalogue of events, while her most distinguished junior title came at the prestigious Trofeo Bonfiglio in Milan. Four ITF World Tennis Tour titles followed as she built towards her Grand Slam breakthrough, and it is a period which Rybakina reflects on fondly and considers key to her future success. "It was a great time," said Rybakina. "I spent time with my friends, and it was always great to play these events, especially the junior ones when you got to play the biggest tournaments like Grand Slams. "I was playing juniors until the end. Other players perhaps try and be a pro a bit earlier, but I was playing until the end. In my case, it worked well for me and my development." That it certainly did and what a season it has been for Rybakina. Whatever happens from here, Wimbledon champion is a tag that nobody will ever be able to wrestle from her grasp. n Clockwise from bo om le : Before her Wimbledon triumph, Rybakina narrowly missed out an Olympic medal at Tokyo 2020 last year, losing to Elina Svitolina in the bronze medal play-off With her Kazakh teammates a er winning April's Billie Jean King Cup Finals Qualifier As a junior, Rybakina qualified for the 2017 ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals She won the Trofeo Bonfiglio junior tle, bea ng Iga Swiatek In Billie Jean King Cup ac on for Kazakhstan It was so special to represent Kazakhstan in a home tie as the support was incredible and I have never previously played when the whole stadium was cheering for me. Elena Rybakina

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