Elena Rybakina Wins 300th WTA Tour Match

Elena Rybakina secured her 300th WTA Tour win by defeating Lois Boisson 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 at Wimbledon on Tuesday. This victory marked her sixth consecutive first-round win at the tournament.

The match was intense, with Boisson pushing Rybakina to a decider. Rybakina claimed the first set 6-4, but Boisson took control in the second, winning 6-1.

Rybakina opened the third set with a statement, firing an ace that marked the start of a love hold. She then fought off two break points and ripped a forehand winner down the line to hold for 3-2.

Rybakina will face Caty McNally in the second round. They are 1-1 head-to-head, with McNally's win coming five years ago on Charleston clay. Rybakina prevailed in their most recent meeting in Beijing last year.

The World No. 2 improved to 6-0 in first-round matches at Wimbledon. She is undefeated in her last 14 Grand Slam opening rounds overall, last losing to Clara Burel at the 2022 US Open.

Rybakina's win was a significant milestone, marking her 300th WTA Tour match win. She became one of four players to reach the second round at Wimbledon in each of the past six editions, joining Iga Swiatek, Barbora Krejcikova, and Elise Mertens.

The match lasted 1 hour and 48 minutes, with Rybakina rolling through another love hold to serve out the match. A forehand winner delivered the lone match point she needed to seal her place in the second round.

Rybakina said in her on-court interview, **"It was a really difficult match. I'm also not coming from too many wins, so I really had to fight."** She added that she needs to improve quite a lot but is happy to get another opportunity.

Rybakina's post-match press conference revealed that she found it challenging to adjust to Boisson's high balls on the grass court. She said, **"For me, it was difficult to actually adjust to these higher balls. And then getting short slices was a bit challenging."**