WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — With Serena Williams nearing the end of her career and Ash Barty newly in retirement, Elena Rybakina served her way right into the Wimbledon void.
With some consistency at the biggest tournaments, tennis might just have a new rival for Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka on the women's tour.
The 23-year-old Rybakina
won her first major title at Wimbledon on Saturday — in only her second appearance at the All England Club. She beat Ons Jabeur, another player with the capability of spending a long time at the top of the game, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Centre Court.
"I think just now (the) generation is changing a bit and (there are) so many young players," Rybakina told a roundtable of five journalists. "But I'm pretty sure that in (a) few years, just one player, two, three are going to dominate.
"For now it was Iga with the great strikes. I think she was playing unbelievable. I think also now she's going to keep doing well. So I don't know, maybe it's going to change. Maybe it's going to be someone new every week."