Elena Rybakina and Ashleigh Barty are the last two women standing at the Adelaide International 1 in Australia.
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.
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%).
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.
Thanks to Jimmie48, we also have photos of Barty and Swiatek practicing before their semifinal.
Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka were caught practicing on Saturday, getting ready to headline the Adelaide International 2 tournament next week.
The Adelaide International 1 final between Barty and Rybakina is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, not before 4 p.m.
