Serena and Venus Williams’ former coach, Rick Macci, has recently shared his thoughts on Elena Rybakina’s dominant performance at the 2025 WTA Finals, as well as her potential to claim the No. 1 ranking in 2026. The Kazakh defeated World No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, in the finals to lift the coveted WTA Finals trophy.
Rick Macci Impressed With Elena Rybakina’s WTA Finals Performance and if She Can Dominate the 2026 Grand Slams
Elena Rybakina defeated elite players including Amanda Anisimova, Iga Świątek, Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Jessica Pegula in the semifinal round. She lifted her maiden Billie Jean King trophy after overcoming Sabalenka with a concluding score of 6-3, 7-6 (0). Additionally, she claimed a prize money of $5.235 million, which is the
Considering her significant run at the 2025 WTA Finals and if she can continue to play notably during her next season’s Grand Slam tournaments, Rick Macci added:
“Rybakina did not lose a match in one most dominating performance we have seen in the WTA year ending event. Can she go to another level mentally and consistently deliver under pressure at the Slams? 2026 she a real shot at the top spot as not a lot to defend to be number one in the end.”
Rybakina did not lose a match in one most dominating performance we have seen in the WTA year ending event. Can she go to another level mentally and consistently deliver under pressure at the Slams? 2026 she a real shot at the top spot as not a lot to defend to be number one in…
— Rick Macci (@RickMacci) November 9, 2025
The winner of 11 WTA singles titles also reflected her hopes to continue her dominance into her next season, after taking her required time off. Rybakina mentioned, “Well it gives a lot of motivation, and hopefully I get some good rest and I can keep this mentality and bring it to the next season. And yeah, hopefully we can improve even more and start strong. And I’m really glad that that was pretty stable throughout the whole tournament.”
With her WTA Finals win, Rybakina became the first Kazakh player to achieve this feat. Before this, she won the Ningbo Open and the Internationaux de Strasbourg. Apart from this, she delivered impressive performances in multiple tournaments, including the Abu Dhabi Open, Qatar Open, Dubai Tennis Championships, the Berlin Grass Court Championships, and others.