Rybakina, Barty to face each other in Adelaide International 1 final

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Elena Rybakina and Ashleigh Barty are the last two women standing at the Adelaide International 1 in Australia.

Elena Rybakina Adelaide International
Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in action during the semi-final at the 2022 Adelaide International WTA 500 tennis tournament

In the first semifinal on Saturday, seventh seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan charged past world No.105 Misaki Doi of Japan 6-4 6-3 to advance to her eighth career WTA final.

Misaki Doi Adelaide International
Misaki Doi of Japan in action during the semi-final at the 2022 Adelaide International WTA 500 tennis tournament

Currently ranked at a career-high No.14, Rybakina considers her serve crucial for her Saturday’s semifinal victory, especially in the end of the first set and in the second set. So far in Adelaide, the 22-year-old has hit 31 aces, while last year she was ranked fourth on Tour for aces struck (301) and sixth for service games won (74%).

Ashleigh Barty Adelaide International
Ashleigh Barty of Australia in action during the semi-final of the 2022 Adelaide International WTA 500 tennis tournament

Rybakina’s obstacle on the way to her third WTA title will be Australia’s own Ashleigh Barty, who ended the Adelaide winning streak of defending champion Iga Swiatek with a 6-2 6-4 win in the second semifinal. In a meeting between the event’s two previous winners, Barty’s serve was never broken as she dominated all service stats, as well as the count of winners and unforced errors.

Iga Swiatek Adelaide International
Iga Swiatek of Poland in action during the semi-final of the 2022 Adelaide International WTA 500 tennis tournament

Thanks to Jimmie48, we also have photos of Barty and Swiatek practicing before their semifinal.

Ashleigh Barty of Australia during practice at the 2022 Adelaide International WTA 500 tennis tournament
Iga Swiatek of Poland during practice at the 2022 Adelaide International WTA 500 tennis tournament

Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka were caught practicing on Saturday, getting ready to headline the Adelaide International 2 tournament next week.

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during practice at the 2022 Adelaide International WTA 500 tennis tournament
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during practice at the 2022 Adelaide International WTA 500 tennis tournament

The Adelaide International 1 final between Barty and Rybakina is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, not before 4 p.m.

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