Stat of the Day: Elena Rybakina has now reached four of the five biggest finals so far this year

In a battle between the 2022 Wimbledon champion and the 2017 Roland Garros champion, Elena Rybakina has defeated Jelena Ostapenko, 6-2, 6-4, to reach the final in Rome for the first time.

Ostapenko actually led 4-1 in the second set.

“I didn’t start that well the second set," Rybakina said after the match. "A bit low in energy, lost my serve, so it was difficult, then a few good shots from her, good serves, it changed very quick.

“The same time, I knew it’s only one break and I just need to be focused and fight for every ball because you never know, either you get the winner or it’s going to be some mistake. Yeah, I just tried to focus on every point, got the break back, served really well after.”

The Kazakh, who won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2022, has now reached four of the five biggest finals of 2023:

THE FIVE BIGGEST FINALS OF 2023 SO FAR:
Australian Open [Grand Slam]: Sabalenka d. Rybakina, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Indian Wells [WTA 1000]: Rybakina d. Sabalenka, 7-6 (11), 6-4
Miami [WTA 1000]: Kvitova d. Rybakina, 7-6 (14), 6-2
Madrid [WTA 1000]: Sabalenka d. Swiatek, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Rome [WTA 1000]: Rybakina vs. Kalinina (TBD)

Rybakina fell in the second round of Madrid to Anna Kalinskaya, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2—they met again in the third round of Rome, where Rybakina led 4-3 in the first set before Kalinskaya retired with a left leg injury.

There was one other WTA 1000 event this year in Dubai, but it was a 56-player draw with 900 ranking points for the champion and 585 for the runner-up. Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome have 96-player draws with 1,000 points for the champion and 650 for the runner-up.

The last woman to reach four of the five finals at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome in the same year was Maria Sharapova in 2012—she won Rome that year and finished runner-up at the Australian Open (to Victoria Azarenka), Indian Wells (again to Azarenka) and Miami (to Agnieszka Radwanska). She fell to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of Madrid that year, on blue clay.

Sharapova went on to win her first Roland Garros title that year.

Awaiting Rybakina in the final of Rome this year will be Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina, who defeated Veronika Kudermetova in the first semifinal, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, to reach the biggest final of her career.

Kalinina actually won the pair’s only previous meeting, prevailing 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on the green clay of Charleston last year.