Elena Rybakina is aiming for her second title of the season at the Citi Open in Washington D.C.
After Rybakina suffered a third-round defeat at Wimbledon, the 26-year-old has made a solid start to the North American hard court swing.
She is into the semi-finals of the WTA 500 event and is just two matches from claiming her first hard court title of the year.
But in order for Rybakina to keep her quest for glory on track, she will need to defeat Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty ImagesElena Rybakina thinks Leylah Fernandez being left-handed makes her a ‘tricky’ player to face
Elena Rybakina reached the Citi Open semi-finals without dropping a set.
She defeated exciting young talent Victoria Mboko 6-3, 7-5, before beating Venus Williams’ conqueror Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals.
Now she will compete against the resurgent Fernandez, who reached her first semifinal of 2025 with a 6-4, 7-6 victory over Taylor Townsend.
Rybakina and Fernandez did not play one another until 2024, where they split their two meetings. Ahead of their third meeting, the world number 12 explained what she finds difficult about playing against the 2021 US Open runner-up.
“For sure it’s going to be a tough match. Plus she’s a lefty and it’s a little bit tricky. I haven’t played against lefties for a long time.
“I’ll try to do my best, focus on my serve and again talk with the team and hopefully I’m going to do well.”
Photo by DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty ImagesElena Rybakina could face Emma Raducanu in the Citi Open final
Should Rybakina defeat Fernandez, she will contest the Citi Open final against either Anna Kalinskaya or her doubles partner in Washington D.C., Emma Raducanu.
The Briton is aiming to reach her first final since her stunning US Open victory four years ago, which remains the only title of her career so far.
Rybakina also entered the doubles in America’s capital, and they progressed to the semi-finals without dropping a set.
However, while trailing 1-4 against Townsend and Zhang Shuai, Raducanu began feeling unwell and decided she could no longer continue, bringing the match to an end as a result.