2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and 2022 Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins are set to play against each other in an Adelaide International first-round showdown.
Rybakina, ranked at No 21 in the world, isn’t even a seeded player in a star-studded player field at a WTA 500 event in Adelaide.
In the first round, Rybakina will be taking on 14th-ranked Collins, who is the fifth-seeded player in the Adelaide main draw.
The @AdelaideTennis women’s draw. Check out two of the bottom half match-ups, in particular! pic.twitter.com/RgTyy0sZcF
— Marc McGowan 🗣✍️👨🏻💻📰 (@ByMarcMcGowan) December 31, 2022
Rybakina, 23, and 29-year-old Collins are set to meet for the second time.
In 2021, Collins beat Rybakina in a tight San Jose clash with a 7-6 (5) 7-6 (4) score.
Since their last meeting, Rybakina has become a Grand Slam champion and she is definitely now a much better player.
Rybakina enters Adelaide confident
Between 19-24 December, Rybakina competed at the inaugural World Tennis League in Dubai.
Rybakina enjoyed success with the Hawks team as she, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem ended up winning the title.
In the final between the Hawks and Kites, Rybakina met world No 1 Iga Swiatek.
Rybakina put up a great performance versus Swiatek as she ousted the three-time Grand Slam champion with a 6-3 6-1 score.
Rybakina started the match with an early 3-0 lead but Swiatek responded by winning the next three games to tie the opener to three games apiece.
However, blowing an early break didn’t impact Rybakina, who broke Swiatek again and served out for the first set in the ninth game.
After winning the first set, Rybakina broke Swiatek three times in the second set to complete a two-set win.
Fresh off a big win over Swiatek, Rybakina will try to do well in Adelaide.
12 months ago, Rybakina made the Adelaide International final before losing to home favorite Ashleigh Barty.
Even though Rybakina isn’t seeded in Adelaide, she can definitely do big things this week and potentially win the title.
It remains to be seen if Rybakina first can get past American tennis star Collins in what will be a stunning first-round match.