Serena Williams’ childhood coach Rick Macci says Elena Rybakina is “a great role model for juniors” because of the way she handles herself on the court.
The Kazakh tennis star, who recently lifted her second Grand Slam title at the US Open and became the world No. 1 for the first time in her career, almost never reacts or displays emotions on the court.
Over the years, Rybakina has admitted several times that she absolutely feels happiness and frustration on the court, but simply doesn’t display it.
Macci: Rybakina is a great role model for juniors for not getting too high or too low
Macci, who coached the Williams sisters during their childhood, believes the 27-year-old when she says that she feels emotions despite not displaying them.
“Rybakina is a great role model for juniors for not getting too high or too low. Her calmness is sometimes is mistaken for not having enough fire. This is just her wiring and DNA. You DO NOT HAVE TO SHOW IT TO FEEL IT. She is a great competitor simply because you do not end up the best female player on the planet if mentally your mind is not like granite,” Williams’ childhood coach wrote on X.
https://x.com/RickMacci/status/2104093834833535355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2104093834833535355%7Ctwgr%5Eec3a2568f8d915be1084c436c0fc12e36579f4e5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennisworldusa.org%2Ftennis%2Fnews%2FSerena_Williams%2F170000%2Fserena-williams-excoach-declares-elena-rybakina-great-role-model-for-juniors-%2F
Gauff recently made a comment about Rybakina’s personality
After suffering a 6-3 4-6 4-6 loss to Rybakina in the US Open semifinal, Gauff admitted that it was extremely tough to read the Kazakh simply because she was never reacting.
“I think Elena is probably the, not nonchalant because she’s not nonchalant… But you know, just no reaction ever,” Gauff said.
“I’m sure it may appear that way but we’re all feeling nerves. How much of that she lets get to her, we don’t know. And I think that’s the strength of her. You can never see what she’s feeling. But for sure, she’s human. So she’s feeling nerves and all the things we all feel. She’s dealt with this on more than one occasion. She has the experience.”
In some of her past interviews, Rybakina also noted that she doesn’t want her opponents to know when she is feeling nervous or frustrated on the court.
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