Supreme shotmaker has positioned herself as one of the game’s elite with understated self-belief and calmness under pressure
Elena Rybakina stepped up to the baseline to face match point in the Miami Open third round on Saturday night with her game in total disarray. While Paula Badosa had erected a wall on her side of the court, refusing to offer up any mistakes, Rybakina’s unforced errors piled up to the skies. She had missed countless routine backhands, she had shanked decisive drive volleys and her frustration increasingly surfaced as she trailed 6-3, 5-4. Her brief time in Florida, it seemed, was coming to an end.
Instead the pressure of standing a point from defeat steadied her. Rybakina slotted in a sweet, angled cross-court forehand winner to save the match point and, after a further flurry of point‑ending shots, the entire complexion of the match had changed. She was suddenly striking winners from all parts of the court, marching towards a third set. Badosa unloaded her own frustration at her team, covering her eyes with her left hand before mimicking forehand and backhand swings with her right. The implication was that Rybakina was swinging blindly and the ball just happened to be landing in.