Wimbledon champion Rybakina wins Italian Open; Rune-Medvedev in men’s final
Elena Rybakina is discovering that her big serve and heavy groundstrokes can do damage on clay courts, too.
The Wimbledon champion was dominating 21-9 with winners when Ukrainian opponent Anhelina Kalinina retired due to a left thigh injury early in the second set of the rain-delayed Italian Open final on Saturday.
“I can play good on all the surfaces,” Rybakina said. “It’s just maybe for clay I need to be ready more physically and maybe have a lot of preparation.” It’s been quite a year for Rybakina, who reached the final of the Australian Open, also won an elite title in Indian Wells and was the runner-up in Miami.
“I’m proud that I can maintain this level,” she said. “I can see improvements on the court, physically also. … I think there is still a lot of room to improve.” On Monday, ...