Elena Rybakina has a new ride, but she can’t even drive.
The world No. 4 earned a brand-new Porsche to go along with her third title of the season on Sunday at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. But earlier in the tournament, Rybakina had already confirmed that she wouldn’t be able to {legally} drive it.
“Well guys, I actually don’t have a driver’s license, so …” Rybakina joked in her on-court interview after dethroning two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, to a roar a laughter from the crowd.
“I want one already for a long time, so that’s going to be a big motivation.”
But she isn’t the first Stuttgart champion to land a Porsche without the proper paperwork.
When Karolina Pliskova won the title in 2018, she joked that her twin sister, Kristyna, could chauffer her around—even though her left-handed sibling hadn’t driven for years in her estimation. Last year, the still-unlicensed Czech confirmed she still owns the car, and she was happy to let her husband, Michal Hrdlicka, drive in it.
Later, Rybakina echoed the comments Pliskova made six years ago: Her lack of a license doesn’t come from not wanting one, but instead, her nomadic lifestyle on the globe-trotting tennis tour.
“I wanted to do it already long time, but I never have chance to be at one place for long,” Rybakina said. “I did already couple of lessons. I was driving, but yeah, for sure [getting her license] that’s the goal for this year outside of the court.”
“And with this car, if I win, it’s going to be one double goal. Hopefully, I finish it this year,” she added with a smile.
Until then, what will Rybakina be doing with it? In her victor’s press conference, the Russian-born Kazakh said that, for now, her coach, Stefano Vukov, and her mother, Ekaterina, will share the driving duties in Dubai.
“Hopefully, me soon,” she grinned.
