Wimbledon 2021: Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (2) Aryna Sabalenka vs (18) Elena Rybakina

Date: 5 July 2021

Tournament: The Championships, Wimbledon

Round: Fourth round (Round of 16)

Venue: London, Great Britain

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Grass

Prize money: £17,066,000

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - BBC TV & Radio | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP

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Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina preview

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka takes on 18th seed Elena Rybakina in a blockbuster fourth-round clash at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships on Monday.

Having won two titles in the first half of 2021, Sabalenka came to the grass swing full of confidence. She made it to the quarterfinals at Eastbourne, and has taken that momentum to reach the second week at SW19 for the first time in her career.

While Sabalenka faced hiccups in her second-round match against Katie Boulter (where she dropped a set), the 23-year-old rebounded in style against Maria Osorio Serrano. Sabalenka needed just 1 hour 15 minutes to beat the Colombian qualifier 6-0, 6-3.

But up next for the Belarusian is a tough hurdle in the form of 18th seed Elena Rybakina, who seems to be getting better with each match.

Elena Rybakina

After struggling in the initial part of the season, Rybakina came alive at Roland Garros, where she made the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time. The Kazakh then brought her free-flowing game to the grass swing, storming into the semifinals at Eastbourne.

Rybakina has been able to build on that run in a stunning performance so far at Wimbledon. The 22-year-old is yet to drop a set in three rounds, and in fact hasn't even been stretched to a tie-break.

Rybakina is playing the best tennis of her career at the grasscourt Major, and will certainly be a big threat to Sabalenka.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina head-to-head

Aryna Sabalenka leads Elena Rybakina by a margin of 2-0 in the head-to-head. Interestingly, however, both their clashes went the distance.

While their first meeting was at Wuhan in 2019, their most recent face-off was in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina prediction

Elena Rybakina

When two big-hitting players face each other, the outcome usually boils down to who makes fewer unforced errors.

Aryna Sabalenka, for one, is prone to producing a high number of errors under pressure. Her second-round match against Katie Boulter was a perfect example of that, as she struggled to maintain her consistency in the initial stages of the match.

Even though the Belarusian did rebound to grab a win in three sets, another slow start could spell doom against someone like Elena Rybakina.

Sabalenka's serve has also been shaky during the course of her Wimbledon campaign; she has leaked 15 double faults in three matches so far. By contrast, Rybakina comes into this match serving with confidence; the Kazakh has had a success rate of 85% on her first-serve points so far.

Rybakina has been equally strong on the return, as is evident from her break-point conversion rate of 54% over her first three matches. But the 22-year-old does tend to overhit her forehand at times, and has made 74% of her errors off that wing.

That said, Rybakina's flat groundstrokes are tailor-made for this surface. She has been far more consistent than Sabalenka through the Wimbledon first week, and if she can maintain the same level, she could make her second quarterfinal in as many Slams.

Prediction: Elena Rybakina to win in three sets.