Elena Rybakina

Press Conference

E. RYBAKINA/E. Svitolina

7-5, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, and welcome back to the Indian Wells final. Just your thoughts on your performance today.

ELENA RYBAKINA: Thank you. Well, not maybe my best performance, but I'm super happy to win this match and be in the final again.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Australia was your first Grand Slam final in a few years. This is your first WTA 1000 final I think since 2024. What's working in your game that it feels like you're having this kind of -- I don't want to say renaissance, because you didn't go anywhere -- but where this kind of success in late stages of tournaments is happening again?

ELENA RYBAKINA: Well, we have been working well with the team, and last year I already started to have good results. Of course some confidence came in after some wins against higher-ranked players.

Yeah, we just kept on going, and I have very good team now around me, which I'm super happy. We're trying to improve every day, and slowly the results are showing on the court too.

Q. You played Aryna in the final here in 2023. What do you remember from that match?

ELENA RYBAKINA: It was tough matches, any match I play against Aryna, and I have been serving well. I remember that match, but again, we played so many times, and I think it all depends in these moments, close moments, which we usually have for whoever steps in, plays more aggressive, more solid.

So, yeah, it's gonna be a very difficult match.

Q. It was obviously very warm today. How did that affect play? The ball bouncing high? It seemed like it may have been affecting the match a little bit.

ELENA RYBAKINA: Well, yeah, the ball was flying a little bit more than maybe the beginning of the week, but it was very similar conditions as I played with Jessica the other day. So I would say that it was more or less similar.

Q. Aryna's held the No. 1 ranking now for over a year, almost 80 weeks consecutively. I wonder what your thoughts are on that, how she's been able to dominate. And now that you're at No. 2 in the world after this week, do you start to think about the chances you might have down the road of becoming No. 1?

ELENA RYBAKINA: Well, it's a great achievement, of course, and to stay so long as No. 1, you need to be very consistent. She showed great tennis for the past couple of years, so of course my goal is to get even higher in the ranking, to get this position as No. 1, but I know it's still a lot of work. It all depends on the other players too.

Yeah, definitely that's my biggest goal, next goal. So, yeah, I will try to do it this year, and hopefully it happens.

Q. How much of an advantage is it for you mentally knowing you have never lost a final against Aryna?

ELENA RYBAKINA: I actually didn't think about this statistic, because I lost in Australia. Not this year; the previous. But, well, as I always say, every day is different, every tournament is different, and you can play well one day and then the other day wake up and not feel the greatest. So I feel like you need to always try to find a way.

We know each other's game very well. It's a lot about physical, I would say also, because here, the ball is heavy, the rallies a little bit longer than on the other hard courts, which are a little bit quicker.

It's gonna be difficult match where we both gonna try to serve well, that's for sure, put pressure, and, I mean, we will see what's gonna happen.

Q. I heard that you have your own racquet stringer; is that right?

ELENA RYBAKINA: Yes.

Q. What is the benefit of having that private stringer?

ELENA RYBAKINA: Well, he doesn't work only with me, but also some other, few players. But it definitely better when one person is stringing your racquet. He also suggests some things which I can adapt, depending on the condition and also tracking how the racquets are actually, if I need to change something or not.

So I think it's a great benefit to have someone in the team like this.

Q. You have had more success in the last, I think, six months against the top 10 than you ever have before in your career. I wonder if you could explain if there is a reason for it, do you think? Is it your focus against the top players? Or is it just the fact you're maybe playing better than you ever have?

ELENA RYBAKINA: Well, I think it's all together. I think that I was always playing against top players well. Maybe the statistic is not the same, and I was losing these tough matches a bit more before, but I think with the years, with experience, I'm getting this consistency, so hopefully I can just keep on going.

Also, you get to know the players much more, so you play against the same player multiple times, so you know what to expect. So I think it's all together.

Q. What are you going to do between now and the final to recover and prepare to get the best performance on Sunday?

ELENA RYBAKINA: We still gonna do some work on the court, but definitely I will try to rest and be as fresh as possible. It's a bit tricky also to play late matches. Then you need to wake up for the early match. Even if it's at 11:00, you are still waking up many more hours in advance.

So it's a bit challenging, but we will see what we can do. Yeah, hopefully I can be prepared well.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports