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World No. 4 Elena Rybakina will gear up to capture her fourth title of the season at the Madrid Open.
Rybakina claimed her third title of the season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart on Sunday, April 21. She defeated Marta Kostyuk in straight sets to become the first woman to lift three trophies this year.
All three of Rybakina's titles have come at the WTA 500 level. She did reach a couple of WTA 1000 finals too but came up short. The Kazakh will now aim to change that statistic.
As one of the seeded players at the Madrid Open, Rybakina has received a first-round bye. Here's a look at the list of players she's likely to go through if she wants to win the title at the venue:
Possible R2 opponent - Lucia Bronzetti
Elena Rybakina could be up against Lucia Bronzetti or a yet-to-be-placed qualifier in the second round. The latter has a 5-9 record at main draw level this season. The Italian has also never beaten a top-10 player in her career and has lost all five of her matches against them in straight sets.
If Bronzetti loses to the qualifier, it shouldn't affect the outcome after that. Rybakina should be able to handle whoever she faces at this stage to advance further.
Possible R3 opponent - Marta Kostyuk
Elena Rybakina easily defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix over the past weekend. Now, a rematch is on the cards as they're drawn to possibly face each other in the third round.
Kostyuk has been one of the most in-form players this season. However, unless she changes something substantially in a few days, it's tough to see her getting the better of Rybakina so soon.
Possible R4 opponent - Anna Kalinskaya
Anna Kalinskaya staged a comeback to defeat Elena Rybakina in three sets at last year's Madrid Open. The two are slated to cross paths once again at the venue this time.
Kalinskaya is in pretty good form this year. She made it to the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships in February. She has a couple of wins over Rybakina, though the latter has the same number of victories in this rivalry too.
Should Kalinskaya falter early on, Rybakina could face last year's Madrid Open semifinalist Ekaterina Alexandrova instead. She scored a big win as she toppled World No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the Miami Open a few weeks ago. However, the Russian is also known for her inconsistency, so it's tough to predict her performance.
Possible QF opponent - Anhelina Kalinina
Zheng Qinwen is the highest-ranked player Elena Rybakina could meet in the quarterfinals. However, the Chinese youngster has struggled to perform at a high level after her runner-up finish at the Australian Open. She has won just five matches since then.
Daria Kasatkina is another big name Rybakina could face at this stage. However, the Russian is just 3-4 at the WTA 1000 level this season, despite performing quite well elsewhere.
Anhelina Kalinina, who's quite good on clay, could make it this far as well. The two duked it out in the final of the 2023 Italian Open, which ended on a sad note as the Ukrainian was forced to retire due to an injury. Now that she's in good shape, she could give the Kazakh a run for her money.
Possible SF opponent - Danielle Collins
Danielle Collins is riding a 13-match winning streak at present. She defeated Elena Rybakina in the final of the Miami Open to capture the biggest title of her career. The American will be keen to continue her unbeaten run.
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka is also in this part of the draw. However, her form has taken a nosedive since her successful title defense at the Australian Open. She's due to face Collins in the fourth round, so if she's able to get past her, she could set up a semifinal date against Rybakina.
Sabalenka leads Rybakina 5-3 in the head-to-head, though the latter has won three of their last four matches. Given their recent form, the Kazakh will be favored to come out on top once again.
Possible final opponent - Iga Swiatek
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek is most likely to be Elena Rybakina's opponent in the championship round. The two have one of the fiercest rivalries on the tour right now, and the Kazakh has a 4-2 advantage in it.
Rybakina won their most recent encounter in the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in three sets. Swiatek had the last laugh in the Qatar Open final a couple of months ago before that.
If Swiatek loses early, then Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari, Victoria Azarenka, Emma Raducanu, Naomi Osaka, and Sloane Stephens are some of the other players Rybakina could face in the final.
