The face never gives anything away. Point won, point lost, the expression holds, which is how Elena Rybakina earned the nickname Ice Queen and why the serve behind it lands so hard: one of the biggest deliveries in the women's game arriving from a player who looks like she is waiting for a bus. She was born in Moscow and grew up in the Russian system, then in 2018 accepted an offer to represent Kazakhstan, the first player from that country to win a major.
That major came at Wimbledon in 2022, the calm holding all the way through the final. She reached the Australian Open final the next year and lost it to Aryna Sabalenka, the rival she has met most often, and a second slam followed at the Australian Open. She has climbed to a career-high No. 2 and won 13 career titles, the quiet threat that Iga Swiatek and the rest have learned to watch on the fast courts.
Twenty-nine. That is how many places Lilli Tagger climbed in this week's WTA rankings, from No. 74 to a career-best No. 45, after the 18-year-old won the Livesport Prague Open. She was one of four players to break into the top 50 in a week when the entire top 10 held its exact place.
Ranking taleTwenty-four. That is how many places Mayar Sherif climbed in this week's WTA rankings, from 97 to 73. The 30-year-old won the title in Iasi, a tour-level event, beating Paula Badosa in the final, and it is the biggest jump on this week's list, in a week when the very top of the WTA rankings did not move at all.
Ranking tale