LONDON: Elena Rybakina moseyed across the grounds of the All-England Club, taking in the sights on the weekend before the start. The rush of fellow players, staff scurrying around, placing pots and setting up shops. The 24-year-old defending champion had her smile for company.
Rybakina came into Wimbledon unannounced last year. Ranked 23 in the world, she went on to take the title. In 2023, the wiry Kazakh, along with the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, gave the top of the women’s game a new-found solidity in challenging Iga Swiatek’s reign.
