"She's dead" - Elena Rybakina teases sister Anna after intense physiotherapy session at Australian Open

Kazakh tennis star Elena Rybakina was recently seen playfully teasing her sister Ann while the latter underwent a thorough physiotherapy session amid the ongoing Australian Open.

Elena captured footage of Ann's joints being "cracked" by acclaimed specialist Stefan Duell and shared it online. In the video, Ann can be seen grimacing in pain as Duell works on her joints and cracks them. Overall, she appears to have enjoyed the experience, wearing a satisfied smile towards the end of the 34-second footage.

Duell shared the clip along with the caption:

"Player support team member cracking @Australian Open."

Throughout the cracking, Elena recorded her sister on her phone. "She's dead," the former Wimbledon champion hilariously exclaimed at one point, as her sister lay immobile amid the therapy session.

Ann later reposted Duell's video on her Instagram account, replying to her sister's remark and claiming she was "alive and even stronger." Her caption also hailed Duell as a "shaman" (a spiritual healer).

Ann Rybakina's story of her physiotherapy session - Source: via @annrybakina on Instagram

Ann has been one of Elena Rybakina's loudest cheerleaders as the latter has gotten her 2025 season underway. The duo has shared several memorable moments together ever since Elena arrived Down Under to begin her preparations for the first Grand Slam of the year.

Elena Rybakina has shown utter dominance in her outings at the Australian Open

Elena Rybakina at the 2025 Australian Open - Day 5 - Source: Getty

Elena Rybakina, a former finalist at Melbourne Park, has shown utter domination en route to the Third Round at the first Grand Slam of the year.

In her first two outings, Rybakina showed clinical efficiency to dismiss Australian Emerson Jones and Iva Jovic of the US for the cumulative loss of only five games.

Rybakina's participation at the Open has been marked by her re-association with coach Stefano Vukov, with whom she parted ways in 2024 amid reports that he mistreated her. In November, she announced that she would be working with Novak Djokovic's former coach Goran Ivanisevic for the 2025 season.

Elena Rybakina, however, has insisted that Vukov never abused her. Days after Vukov rejoined the 25-year-old's team, the WTA suspended him over a code of conduct investigation but the Kazakh star asserted that she disagrees with the decision.

"I have never made any complaints or any of these things," Rybakina said ahead of launching her campaign. "I don't really want to speak about this anymore. I want to focus on my matches here." [via BBC]

The No. 6 seed will face 32nd seed Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine on Saturday for a spot in the Round of 16.