Elena Rybakina dealt with an illness at the Indian Wells Open, and she confirmed that she's not fully recovered from it yet during the 2024 Miami Open.
The Kazakhstani player had high hopes for the Indian Wells Open because she won the WTA 1000 event last year. She missed this year's event because of an illness but returned to the Miami courts and is doing well.
Her next match will be against Maria Sakkari as she hopes to have an equally good event as last year's. She made the final in 2023 but lost to a very inspired Petra Kvitova who couldn't believe that she won the event in the end.
Her play hasn't looked as sharp as it generally does, and there is a reason for that. In her interview with the Tennis Channel after the match, Rybakina admitted that she was still in pain after her matches.
"Unfortunately it was long. It was like 8 days without anything. Nothing. Honestly, no fitness, no tennis. It was tough to come back. I’m still in pain after all these matches. I’m feeling better and hopefully the extra day we have in between helps. We’ll see how it’s gonna be in the next one."
It's not the first time Rybakina had a longer layoff because of an illness, but it certainly doesn't help. Jumping straight into matches after not playing any kind of tennis for a while is tough, but she's handled it pretty well.
The last match was the best she played at the event, and she hopes to do even better in the coming days. She'll have a day in between matches, so that should help with her recovery. She'll need it because she's taking on Maria Sakkari next, who has given her some trouble in the past.
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