One week before the start of the second Grand Slam event of the season, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina has thrown her name in the ring of favorites to win the claycourt Major after winning the WTA 1000 Internazionali BNL d’Italia title.
Rybakina was leading 6-4, 1-0 before her opponent, 47th-ranked Anhelina Kalinina retired fromt he match due to a left leg injury.
It may seem like a bizaare week for Rybakina, who had three of her opponents along the way retire from their respective matches. However, it cannot be denied that the Kazakh tennis star has had a stellar season so far.
With this victory, Rybakina now has top tier titles from grass, hard and claycourts – having secured the Wimbledon title last year, runner-up finishes in Australian & Miami Open, a title run at BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and this WTA 1000 in Rome.
The title run in Rome also means Rybakina will become world number four when the new rankings are released on Monday and will guarantee her a top 4 seeding at the French Open tournament.
