Rybakina woes continue as star skips another tournament after concerns raised

Posted by Admin September 22, 2024 Tennis

The 25-year-old has had a rough few weeks on the tennis circuit. She was forced to miss the Olympics and returned in Cincinnati, losing her opening match. Rybakina then split with her long-term coach Stefano Vukov ahead of the US Open.

She won her first-round match in Flushing Meadows but pulled out of the tournament afterwards and hasn’t played since. And her woes have continued, as she looks set to miss next week’s WTA 1000 in Beijing.

The China Open took to Chinese social media platform Weibo to announce her withdrawal. “Rybakina withdraws from the #2024ChinaOpen,” they wrote.

“For fans who have been following the China Open and Rybakina’s dynamics recently, we regret to inform you that due to a back injury, our last year’s semi-finalist Rybakina will not have the opportunity to meet with you.

“We sincerely wish Rybakina to return to the court as soon as possible and meet Chinese fans again as soon as possible.”

The Kazakh also cited a back injury as the reason for her withdrawal from this week’s WTA 500 event in Seoul. And when she pulled out ahead of her second match at the US Open, she said: “Unfortunately, I have to withdraw from my match today due to my injuries.

“I did not want to finish the last Grand Slam of the year this way but I have to listen to my body, and I hope I can close out the remainder of the year strong.”

But Rennae Stubbs thought there was more to the story when Rybakina gave up on her campaign in New York. The former coach of Serena Williams told ESPN: “There’s something obviously going on here. I don’t want to speculate, but this is a very unusual situation.

“Eight withdrawals this year, undisclosed injury now at US Open. I just think there’s something more going on here. This is not a normal situation.

“I’ve seen her over the last couple of days. She hasn’t looked great. I’ve seen her for years on the tour. I know what she looks like when she’s happy, when she’s healthy, when she’s playing well.”

Rybakina isn’t the only big name to miss the upcoming WTA 1000 in Beijing, as world No. 1 Iga Swiatek also pulled out citing personal reasons.