Rome, May 10 (IANS). Elena Rybakina has made it to the round of 16 of the Italian Open. Elena won in straight sets over Alexandra Ella on Sunday. The former Rome champion won 6-4, 6-3 at the Foro Italico. With this, Rybakina has made it to the last 16 for the fourth time in her five attempts in the Italian capital.
The victory further cemented Rybakina’s position as one of the best performers on the women’s tour this season. She now leads the WTA Tour in main-draw wins with 29 wins in 2026. She becomes the only player to reach the Round of 16 in all six WTA 1000 tournaments this year.
The 2023 Rome champion will face either Karolina Pliskova or Laura Siegemund in the next round. She has a strong head-to-head record against both of them. In her first career clash against Filipino star Alexandra Ella, Rybakina’s tremendous power from the baseline proved decisive. The world No. 2 dominated rallies time and again with powerful forehands and explosive serves that forced Ella far behind the baseline and forced her to run from one end of the court to the other throughout the match.
The Kazakh player was particularly dominant from the forehand wing in the opening set, taking control of the match early on with a series of spectacular winners. Many of her most dangerous shots came ‘down the line’, including a series of aggressive winners that prevented Ella from settling into long rallies.
After winning the first set, Rybakina quickly took the lead in the second set and earned an early service break. As the match progressed, Ella’s ability to attack her second serve became a big factor. The former Wimbledon champion was constantly responding to short balls with powerful shots by coming inside the baseline.
Despite the defeat, Ella showed great determination and coped well with the windy conditions for large parts of the match. The young Filipino gave some hope of a comeback by scoring some excellent points midway through the second set, but Rybakina responded quickly, regaining control of the match and maintaining her lead.
A crucial moment came at the end of the second set when Ella missed a chance at the net that could have given her a ‘break-point’. Soon after, Rybakina took advantage of the situation, held serve and then sealed the win with another powerful forehand winner into an empty part of the court.
–IANS
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