US OPEN

September 1, 2026

Elena Rybakina

Press Conference

E. RYBAKINA/T. Frodin

6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Convincing straight-set win. Your thoughts on your level of play today.

ELENA RYBAKINA: Well, I'm happy with the match. Especially when you don't know your opponent, it always can be dangerous, but overall I'm happy with the first match and, yeah, how it went.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. One, I want to ask how you're feeling with the injury. Two, when you did get hurt in Cincinnati, it looked like something where it was going to be really hard to keep playing but you gave it a try for another point. Then when you stopped, is that because of the pain or because you realized it's just going to be hard to compete that way?

ELENA RYBAKINA: No, I stopped because of the pain. First, actually when it happened, I felt the moment, and straightaway I for call the physio in Cincinnati. She said the Achilles tendon was not broken, so that was kind of a good thing, but of course I still had the pain, and I said, Let me just try. Maybe I was -- you know how it is first minute.

And then when I went to serve, I realized I cannot push from the leg. So it was impossible to continue.

Yeah, from that, we started my recovery. We didn't know if I'm going to be able to play here or not. I'm pretty happy, of course, that I'm playing right now, and we were taking day by day. I was not playing for the full week, so seven days no tennis and basically not too much gym I could do movement-wise.

So it's a great result after 10 days from that kind of injury.

Q. Are you pain-free at the moment? Which shot? Is it the serve that affects you? Does it hurt most when you're serving? When do you feel most discomfort on your left leg?

ELENA RYBAKINA: Well, right now I feel okay. Of course we'll see again day by day how I will wake up tomorrow, since it's the first match and kind of a lot of movement.

In the moment I got injured, it was the serve. I think everybody could see. Now it's okay. I can't tell you more.

Q. Would you mind clarifying what part of your leg is injured, if it's a foot or an ankle or a knee? I have seen different things.

ELENA RYBAKINA: It's not the knee. It's tendon, I would say, in the bone where the tendon attaches to the bone. It's that part of the body.

Q. Going into the rest of the year when you win a Grand Slam at the start of the year, is there less pressure for the other Grand Slams, like, Oh, I already have one in my pocket? Does that matter at all?

ELENA RYBAKINA: No, of course it gives quite confidence for the rest of the season, and you just want to keep on going, keep on playing. It gives motivation too.

But I have to say that of course finishing last year very well and playing a lot and then starting like this in Australia, we were expecting some, let's say, down in my game, and it happened for a little bit longer period of time. So it wasn't the result I wanted on clay, on grass.

We kept on playing, kept on adjusting, so I'm happy how these hard court tournaments went for now, except the injury, of course.

But when you start like this, it's always a motivation and confidence.

Q. You mentioned not being too familiar with your opponent coming in. Could you talk a little bit about Thea's game from what you noticed in the game today, how she handled this moment and what you noticed being across the net?

ELENA RYBAKINA: I think that she has great shots, and especially serve. She has this powerful game, which is I think great and it's just a matter of experience, be more stable, playing matches. But she has the game. She can be quite dangerous with these kind of shots.

When I was watching a little bit how she played before, it's not easy to understand, because it's first of all not many matches, different kind of opponent. So I knew it can be challenging. You know, especially when you're young, you come and you just play freely. You're going for the shots.

Yeah, I think she has great potential and great game.

Q. Do you know about your opponent having played the body double in "King Richard"?

ELENA RYBAKINA: Yeah, some of my team, they told me I think because they were doing the research, and that's what came out. I don't know this moment. I didn't see movie, but I think, yeah, it's a cool experience, definitely.