Elena Rybakina targets World No 1 ranking ahead of Dubai Tennis Championships

Dubai: Australian Open winner Elena Rybakina said the goal is to get to become the World No 1 ranking ahead of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Sunday.

“Well, it’s definitely a goal. But depends of course how the other players are going to compete and what results are going to be. The season is so long that I know there is no time to stop, stop working. You need to improve every day. We have so many tournaments. Yeah, you need to catch up and you need to keep on going,” Rybakina said ahead of her match against American Kimberly Birrell.

While the top eight seeds all received first-round byes, top seed and World No 3 Rybakina is on course for a second-round meeting with German Tatjana Maria. On the other half of the draw, No 2 seed Amanda Anisimova could face two-time Grand Slam winner Barbora Krejcikova — a winner here in 2023 — in the Round of 32, should the latter safely negotiate her first-round tie with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Rybakina who lives in Dubai said: “I really love Dubai. I’ve been practicing and doing pre-season on these courts. Of course, they resurface them. But everything is familiar. So yeah, it’s good.”

On the hectic schedule after her Australian Open triumph, she said, “Honestly, it’s really not enough time. When I got back home, I also got a little cold, so I was not celebrating. I was literally in bed for couple of days. Then we had to go to Doha. It’s quite busy schedule.

Meanwhile, defending champion Mirra Andreeva said she is super excited to be back in the Dubai to defend the title. “I’m actually very excited to come back here again and play in front of the people here. I love this tournament. Obviously I have great memories from last year, so I just can’t wait for the tournament to start.

“Well, I cannot say for sure if I’m going to be able to defend the title or not, because obviously it’s a new year, new tournament. But I’m just super excited to play here,” she added.

Speaking about her goals for the new season, she said: “Well, I think my goal is just going to be to try and improve as a player and as a person off the court and on the court, as well.

“I’m obviously going to try to win tournaments. My goal also is to be at the WTA Finals as a singles player ‘cause, yeah, last year was a little bit tricky. Elena obviously played great, won so many matches, she got more points than me. In the end she actually won the tournament. For me, I was not as sad as I could have been.

“Yeah, for me I would maybe focus on try and be in WTA Finals in Riyadh as a singles player,” she added.

On turning a pro at an young age and balancing her private life with career, she said, “Well, for me I wouldn’t say that it’s something difficult because I’m still pretty young. I always travel with my family. For me it’s not as difficult as I would have imagined maybe for some players like Aryna. I think that she’s maybe three times more famous, maybe even four times more famous. I think for her it’s maybe a little bit more difficult.

“For me, I’m just focusing on how to play tournaments. Then when I have my free time, I just like to stay with my family and spend some time with them. I have a good balance with that. For now, that’s what I’m sticking to.”