Elena Rybakina won her second three-set match of the week at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, overcoming a strong challenge from Ons Jabeur to win, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (4) and reach the semifinals.
The top seed is looking win the title in Abu Dhabi for a second straight year, and will now face 2023 champion Belinda Bencic for a spot in the final after defeating Jabeur, a former world No. 2, in two hours and 13 minutes on Center Court.
Rybakina is playing her first tournament since publicly splitting with new coach Goran Ivanisevic, who began working with the 2022 Wimbledon champion during the off-season and through the Australian Open. The former world No. 3 has expressed a desire to reunite with former coach Stefano Vukov, but Vukov remains provisionally suspended while under investigation by the Hologic WTA Tour for a potential Code of Conduct breach.
