Kazakh tennis player Elena Rybakina reached the final of the prestigious WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto, Canada, for the first time in her career, reports infohub.kz.
In the semifinal, Kazakhstan's top-ranked player came from behind to defeat American Coco Gauff 5:7, 6:2, 6:2. The match lasted over two hours and ended well past midnight local time.
After the match, Rybakina admitted she had to give her all to succeed. "I was just trying to fight. Guys, thank you for staying late to cheer for me. It was a long day. Our first match with Coco was also a tough battle. Even in practice, we have close matches. I was just trying to focus, and my serve also helped me—especially at the end of the match. In the first set, we both played well, but then I got a bit flustered. I'm just happy that I managed to win in three sets again," the athlete said in a post-match interview.
Elena particularly highlighted her mental toughness throughout the week. "I'm very proud of the fighting spirit I showed this week. I think my team and I did a great job preparing. So now the main thing is to keep it up. Whatever the result tomorrow, I'll just try to enjoy it. I'll keep playing and trying. I hope we go far in all tournaments," she added.
In the final, the Kazakh player will face world No. 7 Iga Swiatek of Poland, who defeated Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (No. 9 WTA) in the other semifinal.