Watch out for Rybakina!

Elena Rybakina kicks off her grass-court season this week. After an impressive start to 2024 (titles in Brisbane, Abu Dhabi and Stuttgart), the Kazakh is back on a surface she particularly enjoys. Indeed, it was on grass that the world number 4 enjoyed her greatest success, winning Wimbledon in 2022.

And so, like many other top players, she has set her sights on Berlin this week. Determined to take advantage of a time of year that is more open than others, not least because of the relative weakness of world number 1 Iga Swiatek on the surface, Rybakina is looking to settle in as quickly as possible.

With this in mind, despite the disappointment of her elimination at Roland-Garros (beaten by Paolini in the quarter-finals), the 25-year-old quickly threw herself into her German tournament. Opposed to a determined Kudermetova, she qualified without playing her best tennis. She proved herself to be a true realist, taming her opponent with brio (6-4, 7-5 in 1h35).

In the quarter-finals, she will face Victoria Azarenka, who has been impressive since the start of the tournament (defeating Sakkari in the first round, 6-4, 6-2). A first test to look forward to?