“On grass everything changes quickly,” Elena Rybakina said after her opening match against Shelby Rogers. She proved the truth of that on Centre Court, beginning her defence of the women’s singles title with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win that addressed the worries about her fitness and demonstrated her impressive composure.
The 24-year-old has struggled with the after-effects of a virus since the French Open, when she was forced to withdraw from her third-round match after two sleepless, feverish nights. The enervating effects followed her to Berlin, where she lost her second-round match, and then to Eastbourne, where she pulled out of the competition as a precaution.
