Elena Rybakina surprised in a red dress for her official Australian Open champion's photoshoot following winning the Women's singles title at the Melbourne Major for the very first time in her career. Rybakina displayed an aggressive display in the final to down reigning World No.1 and former two-time champion in Melbourne, Aryna Sabalenka, on Saturday, January 31.
On the morning of Sunday, February 1 in Melbourne, the 26-year-old Kazakh, the new World No.3 after her Australian Open success, donned a glamorous half shoulder red dress for the photoshoot, which took place on the banks of the Perennial Yarra River.
Among the numerous pictures and videos that were captured, one particularly stood out, showing Elena Rybakina walking by the scenic Yarra River all smiles as she held the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, the trophy awarded every year to the Australian Open's women's singles champion. Watch the moment below:
She also shared a separate video of herself thanking the fans for supporting her throughout the momentum, over the course of which she eliminated fellow seeds Elise Mertens, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula and finally top seed Sabalenka.
"Hi everyone! Just wanted to say a big thank you for all the support. It's an amazing morning here in Melbourne with this beautiful trophy. Thank you so much for the support throughout these two weeks and I felt the love and it really kept me going and I was fighting till the end. I'm super happy and already looking forward to come back next year," Rybakina said.
Elena Rybakina expresses surprise over stats after Australian Open triumph
At a post-match press conference after her 6-4,4-6, 6-4 Australia Open final victory over Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina was informed that none of her WTA rivals have won as many games as she has since last year's Wimbledon Championships. The Kazakh, clearly shocked by the impressive statistic, was then asked about her thoughts on why she has been so strong.
Here, the 12-time career singles titlist replied:
"I didn’t even know these statistics to be honest. The reason… I mean, I’ve been playing well. I have a very aggressive style of the game. So I think that’s definitely the key. I don’t know which other answer I can give you."
Rybakina is likely to take a short break now before coming back to action for the WTA Tour's Middle East Swing. She leads the field at the upcoming Abu Dhabi Open.