Elena Rybakina withdrew from the 2023 Eastbourne International and her Wimbledon chances are not looking good.
Last year, the Kazakh lifted the biggest trophy in her career when she triumphed in the All England Club. Since then, Rybakina established herself as one of the Top 3 players on the WTA Tour, and as a clear favourite for Wimbledon.
However, things started turning bad for the 24-year-old already at the Roland Garros. She was forced to withdraw from the tournament, later revealing that she wasn't able to breathe, making it impossible to compete.
Since then, Rybakina played two matches and after a win over Polina Kudermetova, she surprisingly lost to Donna Vekic in Berlin. After that, the Kazakh moved to the United Kingdom, where she was supposed to compete at the 2023 Eastbourne International ahead of Wimbledon.
However, already during her press conference, Rybakina said that she was not feeling 100% fit physically, and revealed that her illness in Paris got even worse after she withdrew from the second major of the season.
"It’s been tough actually. At the French Open after I withdrew I went back to the hotel and it was even worse so I had to stay in Paris for a few days not leaving the room. I started my preparation week after just slowly starting and it was tough since it was a virus."
Rybakina hinted that her physical condition was getting better, and clearly indicated that Wimbledon will be her main goal, and that also may be the reason why 'the best grass court player in the world' according to Andy Roddick, withdrew from the tournament.
"So I still think that I’m not 100 per cent physically where I want to be but slowly it’s getting better and hopefully I can get some more matches here and feel more comfortable at Wimbledon."
Shortly after the withdrawal, World No. 3 released a statement, providing more clarity to fans on what really happened.
"Unfortunately, I have to withdraw in Eastbourne today. I’m still recovering from the virus I had in Paris and after Roland Garros it was really tough. I also picked up another small issue in Berlin. So my team and I decided it would be better to recover this week and prepare for Wimbledon. I wish the tournament here in Eastbourne a great week and I hope I can be back next year."
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