Maria Sakkari vs Elena Rybakina

🎾 Wimbledon 2025 – Maria Sakkari vs Elena Rybakina Preview

WTA – 1/32 Finals | Grass | July 3, 2025

🧠 Form & Context

Maria Sakkari
🔄 Still searching: Broke a brutal run of inconsistency with a R1 win over Blinkova (6–4, 6–4), just her second main-draw victory since May.
⬇️ Slide continues: Once a top-10 staple, the Greek has fallen outside the top 70 after a year of early exits and loss of confidence.
🌱 Grass track record: Has reached R3 at Wimbledon four times, most recently in 2024, but has never gone deeper despite her athleticism and power.
📉 2025 struggles: A 16–19 record this year, with several defeats to players outside the Top 100; hasn’t reached a WTA quarterfinal since Linz in January.

Elena Rybakina
👑 Wimbledon royalty: The 2022 champion and 2024 semifinalist looked serene in her 6–2, 6–1 demolition of Avanesyan in R1.
📈 Uptick in form: Claimed the Strasbourg title and made the Berlin quarters, signaling improved health and confidence after a rocky clay swing.
🎯 Surface success: 4–2 on grass this season, with a 21–4 Wimbledon career record that includes wins over multiple Slam champions.
🔥 Reliable threat: Despite some dips, owns a 30–12 record in 2025 and thrives in Slam settings with her big serve and first-strike power game.

🔍 Match Breakdown

On paper, this is a mismatch. Sakkari is fighting for form and confidence, and while her game has historically worked well on grass, her recent results show a player lacking clarity and belief. She’ll need her serve firing and her forehand sharp to keep up with Rybakina.

Rybakina, meanwhile, is made for this surface. Her easy power off both wings and one of the most lethal serves in the women’s game make her incredibly dangerous on grass. She absorbs pace well and punishes short balls, something Sakkari has been offering plenty of in her recent matches.

They’ve met five times—all on hard courts—with Rybakina winning four, including their most recent clash at the 2025 United Cup (6–4, 6–3). While Sakkari did score a win in Indian Wells 2022, that version of her isn’t what we’ve seen lately. Rybakina’s grass-court pedigree and confidence edge should tell the story here.

🔮 Prediction

Sakkari has the crowd and heart—but not the form or firepower to trouble Rybakina over the course of two sets. If the Kazakh stays focused, this should be handled in clinical fashion.

Prediction: Rybakina in 2 sets — Sakkari might keep it close early, but Rybakina’s superior serving and weight of shot will break her down.