Remember what Elena Rybakina said after clinching the title at the 2023 BNP Paribas Open? She said, “I think the biggest goal is, of course, to be No. 1. There is still a long way to go.” Forget about reaching the top spot, we saw Rybakina struggling a bit with her form and her health issues in the next few years. Adding more to her worries were her coaching woes! We saw her running the headlines at the start of the 2025 season when the WTA decided to uphold the ban against her ex-coach, Stefano Vukov. However, amid all the off-court troubles, she’s now all set to start her campaign at the Indian Wells. How does her road to glory at the ‘fifth Grand Slam’ event look like at the moment?
Just a few months ago, while speaking about her goals in the 2025 season, Elena Rybakina said, “Above all, I want to stay healthy, as in 2024 I missed many tournaments and could not participate in some important events… I want to win big titles, of course, that is my goal on the court.” Although she came closer to clinching titles multiple times this year, the Kazakhstani star failed to deliver when it mattered the most this season. She was defeated in the fourth round of the AO by America’s Madison Keys.
After that, although she made a strong comeback at the Abu Dhabi Open by reaching the SF, she went down to the Swiss star, Belinda Bencic, in that match by 6-3,3-6,4-6. Rybakina had also reached the QF in Doha and the SF at the Dubai Tennis Championships but failed to change her fortunes in both of these tournaments. Can Elena Rybakina make her fans feel the magic at ‘Tennis Paradise’ this year? Well, the women’s draw in out, and the road to the QF looks quite smooth for her at the moment.
She has been handed a bye in the first round, and now, Rybakina could possibly face Marie Bouzkova (CZE) in the second round. Bouzkova hasn’t yet played a match since her first-round exit from the 2025 AO. On top of that, Rybakina currently has a 4-0 lead over her in the H2H record record. So, the Kazakhstani will start this match as a clear favorite, and if she wins this match, she could face the Brit Katie Boulter in the R3. Even against Boulter, Elena Rybakina has a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head record.
Considering her form this season so far, experts believe it won’t be a tough ask for the Kazkshatani star to beat Boulter in this match. If she manages to beat the British star, Rybakina could face either Mirra Andreeva or Naomi Osaka in the fourth round. Rybakina was recently defeated by Andreeva in the SF of the Dubai Tennis Championships. So, she might just be looking for revenge in this match. However, she hasn’t faced Naomi Osaka yet in her career. The former world number one is yet to get back to her vintage form, so things will probably be a bit easier if she faces the Japanese star in the R4.
However, Rybakina’s biggest challenges will start from the QF itself. She might face either Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins, Elina Svitolina, or Jelena Ostapenko in that round. Pegula is entering this following her title triumph at the ATX Open, and she currently has a lead of 3-1 over Rybakina in the H2H record. However, on the other side, interestingly, Elena Rybakina has a 3-2 lead over Collins, Svitolina, and Ostapenko. So, either of these three could just be an easier opponent to face for the Kazakhstani star.
If Rybakina manages to overcome all these hurdles, she might face the defending champion, Iga Swiatek, in the SF. Although both of them are currently leveled at 4-4 in their H2H record, we must not forget that Swiatek won both of her previous meetings with Rybakina this year itself! So, keep your seatbelts tight if we see them facing each other in the semis at the Indian Wells. Then, in the final, her probable opponents could be either Coco Gauff or Aryna Sabalenka. Although Rybakina has an edge over Gauff in the H2H record, she currently trails the world number one by a 4-6 margin. So, she might just want to avoid facing the ‘Tigress’ if she manages to reach the final.
Elena Rybakina’s possible path to the Indian Wells title:
R1 – Bye
R2 – Bouzkova / Lamens
R3 – Boulter / Li / Begu
R4 – Mirra Andreeva / Tauson / Osaka / Kvitova
QF – Pegula / Collins / Svitolina / Ostapenko
SF – Swiatek / Zheng / Muchova / Kostyuk / Badosa /
F -… pic.twitter.com/tKcee9jRFY
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) March 4, 2025
Despite the ongoing turmoil in her coaching team, we saw Elena Rybakina putting in some hard yards in her practice session recently. She was spotted practicing on the main courts, and her dedication towards turning fortunes in her favor in the 2025 season was clearly portrayed in that video clip. It’ll be interesting to see if she can really bounce back by clinging the title at Indian Wells or not, but what was her reaction when she first heard the news about the ban of her ex-coach?
“I have never made any complaints” – Elena Rybakina showcases for her ex-coach
Elena Rybakina started working with Stefano Vukov at a very early age. Later on, he even helped her clinch her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. However, last year, we saw her parting ways with Vukov right before the US Open. She brought in Goran Ivanisevic to her team as a replacement, but then, in January 2025, Rybakina announced that she wanted Vukov to rejoin her team. Later on, when the news about suspension for a potential breach of the WTA Code of Conduct came to the limelight, we saw the Chief Executive of the WTA Tour, Portia Archer, coming up with some interesting details.
Previously, we saw former tennis players Laura Robson and Pam Shriver raising their voices against Vukov’s behavior towards Rybakina. Now, as per the reports of the Athletic, Archer mentioned how Vukov breached the code of conduct by “ridiculing and abusing” Rybakina during coaching. The summary also mentioned Vuko had called the tennis player, “stupid” and “retarded“. Portia Archer also wrote that Stefano Vukov had once told Rybakina that she’d still be “picking potatoes” without him. The report highlighted how Vukov’s “mental abuse” and his tendency to push Rybakina beyond her limits had caused her “physical illness.”
After hearing all the negative comments about Vukov, Rybakina had once said, “I don’t agree with a lot of things what WTA do in the sense of my relationship with Stefano…As I said before, I have never made any complaints or any of these things. I always said that he never mistreated me.“
Then again, when she heard that the ban had been upheld, she admitted that she was “disappointed” with the situation and how the process went. Rybakina hired David Sanguinetti in her team after that, but now adding more to her disappointment is the departure of her long-time fitness coach, Azuz Simcich. Do you think Rybakina can overcome all of these and come out with a strong performance at the Indian Wells?
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