Elena Rybakina is a professional tennis player from Kazakhstan, though originally from Russia. She made history by winning the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, becoming the first player from Kazakhstan to take home a Grand Slam title. She’s made a name for herself with her strong serve and bold play from the baseline.

It’s impressive that she reached a career-high ranking of world No. 3 and has snagged several WTA titles, including the 2023 Indian Wells and Italian Opens. Rybakina is still a strong player on the tour, and she recently made it to the third round of the 2025 US Open. So let’s find out more about the 26-year-old.

Where is Elena Rybakina from? What’s her nationality?

Elena Rybakina was born in Moscow, Russia, on June 17, 1999. She still has strong connections to her hometown and is said to live and train there, even though she competes for Kazakhstan on the international stage. She grew up in Moscow, where she got into sports at a young age, first through gymnastics and ice skating until she switched to tennis at six, thanks to her father’s suggestion after she was told she was two tall for either sport.

Furthermore, she trained at the Spartak Tennis Club, learning from top coaches like Andrey Chesnokov, who was a former top-10 player. However, nearly a decade ago, she made a crucial choice to represent her new country.

Why did Rybakina change her nationality from Russia to Kazakhstan?

Back in June 2018, Rybakina made a big move by switching her sporting nationality to Kazakhstan. She did this after getting an offer from the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation, which really her out with financial support for her tennis career. She also had some offers to play college tennis in the US, but chose Kazakhstan instead.

Since then, she’s become a trailblazer for the country in tennis. She’s the first Kazakhstani to snag a Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2022 and break into the world’s top 10.

Even with all the discussion about her Russian roots, particularly during the 2022 Wimbledon ban on Russian players, she made it clear that she’s all in for Kazakhstan: “I’m playing already for Kazakhstan for a long time. I’m really happy representing Kazakhstan. They believed in me. There is no more question about how I feel. It’s just already long time my journey as a Kazak player. I played Olympics, Fed Cup.”

What is Elena Rybakina’s ethnicity and religion?

Elena Rybakina was born in Moscow, Russia, to Russian parents, Andrey and Ekaterina Rybakina. Her father, Andrey, was a professional volleyball player, and both parents are of Russian nationality. However, her religion is not widely reported or confirmed by Rybakina herself, and it can be stated that she has not publicly discussed her religious beliefs.

 Which high school did Elena Rybakina attend?

Elena Rybakina went to a regular high school in Moscow, Russia, not one tailored to student athletes. She had to juggle her schoolwork with her rising tennis career, frequently going to classes and finishing exams right after coming back from tournaments.

“When I was a junior, I didn’t practice so much. I’d be doing maybe two hours tennis and three hours of fitness a day, but it was always in a group. Until I was 15, there would be seven maybe eight of us sharing a court and even when I was 17, 18 it would be a group of four. It was not so professional,” she mentioned in an interview back in 2020.

As she moves forward, her US Open journey is still unfolding. After her triumph against Emma Raducanu, she could face off against some tough competition like Aryna Sabalenka or Iga Swiatek, which would test her ability to go further than the third round. Rybakina, with her career-high ranking of world No. 3 and nine WTA titles, including a Grand Slam win, is definitely a strong player to watch. Her 2025 campaign is shaping up to be another exciting chapter in her legacy, showcasing her resilience and top-notch skills on the biggest tennis stages.