Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina withdrew from the French Open ahead of her third-round match on Saturday due to illness.
“I just wanted to give 100%, and I’m clearly far from 100%,” said Rybakina. “If I can’t breathe, there’s no way I can even run and try to compete.”
No. 4 seed, Rybakina, was scheduled to face 132nd seed Sara Sorribes-Tormo in the day’s opening competition at Court Philippe Chatrier.
They were scheduled to start playing at 11:45 am local time, but at that exact moment Rybakina sat behind the microphone during a press conference to explain why she was withdrawing from her second Grand Slam tournament. general.
When Rybakina appeared drunk, she explained that she had a fever, had not slept well the previous two nights and had struggled for breath during a warm-up session on the Saturday before the game. She said a doctor had told her that a virus was circulating “here in Paris”.
Rybakina, who won her first two matches this week in straight sets, was considered one of the top contenders for the Roland Garros tournament. She’s won her last 10 matches, including her clay court title at the Italian Open last month.
She plays a power-based game that relies in part on one of the best serves on the WTA Tour, which she’s leading as an ace this season.
This past July, Rybakina won his first major title by defeating Ons Jabeur in the final at Wimbledon.
Rybakina is a 23-year-old Moscow native who has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, when the country offered funding to support her tennis career. The change has been a moot point at Wimbledon as the All England Club banned athletes representing Russia or Belarus from competing in the tournament in 2022 due to the war in Ukraine.
This round allows 26-year-old Sorribes Tormo to advance to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career.
