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.
Nineteen. That is how many places Diane Parry has climbed in this week's WTA rankings, from 50 to a career-high 31, the biggest move anywhere on the list. The 23-year-old Frenchwoman won the title in Monterrey to get there, moving past her previous career high of 48.
Ranking taleFive hundred and eighty. That is the ranking of Thea Frodin, the wildcard who opens the US Open against second seed Elena Rybakina. The women's singles draw was made today, ahead of the tournament's start on 30 August, with top seed Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1 and defending champion, opening against Camila Osorio.
Draw tale