Elena Rybakina may not have found much success during the first three days of the World Tennis League, but a thoughtful fan brightened her day by gifting her a Kinder Surprise Egg. Competing for Team Falcons on Saturday, Rybakina faced a challenging day, losing both of her matches.
In her first match, the Kazakh player fell to Iga Swiatek with a score of 6-3. Later, she and her partner Caroline Garcia were defeated by Swiatek and Paula Badosa in doubles, with a score of 6-2.
As Rybakina exited the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, a fan threw a Kinder Egg in her direction, prompting a smile and a gesture of gratitude from the 25-year-old. Over the course of the first three days, Rybakina participated in six matches at the event.
On the opening day of the Abu Dhabi exhibition, the world No. 6 suffered a loss to Aryna Sabalenka in singles and was also beaten in doubles alongside Garcia by Sabalenka and Mirra Andreeva. However, Rybakina rebounded on Friday, defeating Simona Halep and winning her doubles match with Garcia against Halep and Jasmine Paolini.
Despite her mixed results, Rybakina came close to a remarkable comeback against Sabalenka. After losing the first five games, she saved nine match points and managed to force a tie-break, ultimately falling 7-6 (3). After the match, Sabalenka humorously remarked, “I was just telling myself you can’t be that tough on Elena. She’s such a nice person. You cannot do that to her. So okay, let’s be friendly get it to five all and then we will see who is going to get that one.”Looking ahead, Rybakina is set to travel to Australia for the upcoming United Cup.
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