What's to Come in 2026?
Where Rybakina goes from here is truly anyone’s guess. To be sure, she ended the season on top of the world and playing the kind of tennis that should make her a reliable Top 5 figure. Were she able to play an additional four weeks past Riyadh, she would undoubtedly be a favorite to win a hypothetical December Slam. Instead, the red-hot Rybakina is tasked with the challenge of bottling this form in the hopes it will be as effective in January.
And that has been the signature challenge of Rybakina’s career. Where rivals like Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have strung together near-perfect seasons, Rybakina struggles for that same consistency, the result of any combination of allergies, insomnia, and an imperfect—if not outright toxic—coaching dynamic.
Rybakina’s results indeed took off once she was able to resume full-time work with Stefano Vukov, who was temporarily suspended due to a potential violation of the WTA’s Code of Conduct. Her decision to shun WTA CEO Portia Archer at the trophy ceremony in Riyadh indicates Rybakina has neither forgotten nor forgiven what she deemed an unnecessary disruption to her season.
But where Rybakina appears to believe Vukov’s presence is critical to her success, he’s hardly proven a silver bullet through the streaky stretch between her 2022 Wimbledon triumph and his initial ban. The question, then, for Rybakina, is as it has ever been: is her immense talent enough to overcome all of the external—and internal—adversity that stands between her and reliable success?—David Kane
