Elena Rybakina was nervous. She was embroiled in her first
match on Wimbledon’s Centre Court as defending champion. She was facing a tough
opponent in Shelby Rogers. The roof was closed and she was recovering from a
virus.
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Even more daunting, one of the greatest players ever to walk
that court, Roger Federer, was now sitting just a few feet behind her, in the
royal box, watching her struggle.
“Yeah, maybe that’s why I was nervous,” Rybakina said after
she recovered to beat Rogers on Tuesday, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Federer, now retired, was back at Wimbledon for a visit. As
a player, he was a member of the so-called Big Three of men’s tennis, along
with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. As a spectator, he was watching a player
some experts, including Chris Evert, believe is part of an emerging big three
of women’s tennis.
Rybakina, the third-ranked player in the world, along with
No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, comprise the top of the women’s
tennis pyramid. Together, they have won the last five major tournaments, and
the eventual winner of this year’s Wimbledon is expected — but obviously not
guaranteed — to come from their elite group, as well.
Those who think it is premature to crown a triumvirate of
women’s tennis will find the 24-year-old Rybakina in agreement.
“I think it’s too early to say anything about just three
players because it’s not like it was Roger or Djokovic,” Rybakina said. “It’s
still too far”.
All three players are younger than 26, and all have the
necessary tools to win multiple tournaments and remain at the top of the
rankings. Left out of the grouping are players like Jessica Pegula, ranked No.
4. But Pegula said she agrees that the top three are the class of the women’s
game and deserve the recognition, even if she would like to expand the number
to four someday.
“I think it’s exciting to have something for us to talk
about and for fans to get involved in and hopefully be excited to watch them
battle it out,” Pegula said Saturday. She beat Lauren Davis in the first round
Monday. “But I hope I’m part of that conversation at some point. I guess that’s
all I have to say.”
Ons Jabeur, who lost to Rybakina in last year’s Wimbledon
final and to Swiatek in the US Open final, is a solid grass court player, who
could also stake a claim to this year’s Wimbledon title. Jabeur is another who
believes that Swiatek, Sabalenka and Rybakina have set themselves apart.
“For me it’s inspiring to see them doing great,” Jabeur
said. “You can learn a lot from them.”
Coco Gauff, who is only 19 and ranked No. 7, could also
intrude into the mix one day. But not yet, not after she lost to Sofia Kenin, a
former No. 4 player who is 24, in the first round Monday.
As Rybakina said Tuesday, “anyone can still beat anyone.”
As Wimbledon opened under rainy skies, each one of the three
top players had at least one question to answer on court before she could lift
the trophy. Swiatek, 22, from Poland, has struggled on grass and never made it
past the fourth round in her three attempts here.
She demonstrated good form at Bad Homburg, a grass-court
tournament before Wimbledon, but became ill and had to withdraw after winning a
quarterfinal match. She looked fully recovered in her first-round win over Lin
Zhu on Monday and a title here would give her three of the last four majors.
Rybakina won Wimbledon last year with an amazing run of
confidence and form, defeating Jabeur in three sets for her first Grand Slam
title. But her conditioning remains in doubt. A virus forced her withdrawal
from the French Open last month, and she said the condition worsened afterward.
She is OK now, she said, but she had to lighten her workouts leading up to
Wimbledon.
Sabalenka did not even play at Wimbledon last year. She is
from Minsk, Belarus, and the tournament banned all players from Russia and Belarus
from competing because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’ cooperation
with that military incursion.
Hence, she has played only eight matches on grass the past
two years, including only two this year leading up to Wimbledon, and has gone 5-3.
Perhaps more concerning than the surface was her devastating loss at the French
Open last month. Serving for the semifinal match at 5-2, she allowed Karolina
Muchova to come back and win.
Sabalenka, 25, who won her first major tournament at this
year’s Australian Open, was asked this week about her level of confidence on
grass, and said, “I don’t like to speak about confidence.”
She continued, “For me it’s a little weird. I just want to
say that I have strong belief that I can do well on grass. I already did it. I
feel good on grass.”
She certainly played well on it in her first-round victory
Tuesday. Federer left after Andy Murray won and missed seeing Sabalenka hit a
masterful between-the-legs shot from the baseline, with her back to the net.
Her opponent, Panna Udvardy of Hungary, was ready at the net to volley it away
for the point. Sabalenka smiled and raised her fist to salute the artistic
rally, on her way to a straight sets victory, 6-3, 6-2.
“I missed this place a lot,” she said on court afterward,
“that’s why I played my best tennis today.”
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