Elena Rybakina: If I play my tennis, I’ll have all the chances against Iga Swiatek

Elena Rybakina feels she will definitely have her chances against Iga Swiatek in their Australian Open round-of-16 match if she plays her tennis.

Rybakina, ranked at No 25 in the world, is set to play against Swiatek for the second time on the main level.

Swiatek defeated Rybakina in 2021 Ostrava, but the Kazakh ousted the Pole 6-3 6-1 when they played at the World Tennis League in Dubai this past December.

“For sure she’s very strong physically and mentally. I think that if I’m going to play my game, aggressive, I’m going to be solid from the beginning till the end, I have all the chances. I’m going to try to do my best. To be honest, it doesn’t matter which round I play (her) because I think Iga is a great player. No matter what, the goal is to beat the top players. If it’s first, second round, the goal is to improve throughout the year. The year is actually long. I think that it’s going to be tough match. Hopefully it’s going to go my way,” Rybakina said of playing Swiatek, per Tennis Majors.

Rybakina will likely play Swiatek on Rod Laver Arena

After the US Open, Rybakina made it clear that she felt she wasn’t getting the deserved respect and recognition as a Wimbledon champion.

Rybakina, who played her Australian Open first-round match on Court 13, has since played her last two matches in the John Cain and Kia Arena, respectively.

“I honestly don’t care because it wasn’t easy after Wimbledon with the scheduling, of course, and everything. But in the end I’m here to play tennis. I’m feeling good. So I’m super happy to get through to another match. Doesn’t matter which court I’m going to play. I guess it’s a motivation to win even more. Maybe next time they’re going to put me first match somewhere else, not the Court 13. As I said, it doesn’t really matter. I just want to win as much as I can,” Rybakina explained.

It remains to be seen if Rybakina can send top-seeded Swiatek home.