Elena Rybakina's father reveals Wimbledon champion wanted to quit tennis 6 months ago

Elena Rybakina's father Andrey Rybakin has revealed that his daughter wanted to quit tennis six months ago.

The 23-year-old made history by winning the women's singles title at Wimbledon last month, beating Ons Jabeur in the final. She thus became the first player from Kazakhstan to win a Major singles title.

In a discussion with Russian newspaper Sport Express, Rybakin spoke about how his daughter wanted to be the best from an early age and that she could "still surprise everyone with her game."

"When she was little, she once said to her grandfather the following phrase: “I want to be the first!” And she goes to this goal. Time will tell. It seems to me that she should still surprise everyone with her game. It's good that she is now lowered to the ground. She understands everything perfectly and tries. Now she is definitely not going to quit tennis, although she had such moments six months ago," Rybakin said.

When asked why Rybakina wanted to quit the sport, her father explained that it's something many players go through. Thankfully, the Kazakh's family was able to calm her down and she returned to training soon after.

"Many tennis players go through this," Rybakin said. "It happens that you put maximum efforts, but there is no exhaust. Even just before Wimbledon, it was like that. She could not stand it, she left the competition, we talked with her in the family for five or six days. My daughter calmed down and began to train again."

How has Elena Rybakina fared since winning Wimbledon?

Elena Rybakina recently reached the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati

Elena Rybakina suffered a sudden dip in form after her historic Wimbledon triumph. She lost to eventual champion Daria Kasatkina in the first round of the Silicon Valley Classic before being eliminated by Coco Gauff in the second round of the Canadian Open.

The Kazakh then found her footing in Cincinnati, reaching the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open following straight-set wins over Mayar Sherif, Garbine Muguruza and Alison Riske. However, she lost 6-2, 6-4 to Madison Keys.

Rybakina, who is currently 25th in the WTA rankings, will now set her sights on the US Open beginning at the end of the month. She reached the third round at Flushing Meadows in 2021, before falling to Simona Halep in three sets.