Almost four years have passed since Elena Rybakina celebrated winning Wimbledon by humbly raising her right arm in the air.
“Maybe one day you will see huge reaction from me,” she told the crowd that day.
But that is not the understated 26-year-old’s style.
After ending her wait for another Grand Slam trophy with victory at the Australian Open, the Kazakh simply clenched a raised fist and briefly shook her head in a mixture of relief and disbelief.
But her return to the level that took her to her breakthrough success hinted that she may now, at last, be ready to consistently create those moments worthy of big celebrations.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka and second-ranked Iga Swiatek have established themselves as the dominant players on the women’s tour over recent years, winning eight of the 13 slams since Rybakina’s Wimbledon triumph.
But Rybakina demonstrated her potential to bridge the gap by beating Sabalenka 6-4 4-6 6-4 in Saturday’s Melbourne showpiece, having also overpowered Swiatek and sixth seed Jessica Pegula on her way to the title.
“I always believed I can come back to the level I was [but] we all have ups and downs,” Rybakina said.
“I thought maybe I will never again be in the final, or even get a trophy.
“But we’ve been putting in a lot of work as a team and in the moments when I was not that positive they would be helping out.
“When you are getting big wins against top players, then you start to believe more and you get more confident.”
