Raducanu & Rybakina withdraw from doubles at 2022 Cincinnati Masters

A fascinating doubles pairing was supposed to make their debut at the 2022 Cincinnati Open, but Elena Rybakina and Emma Raducanu won’t be playing together after all.

When the doubles draw of the Cincinnati Masters emerged, fans were stunned to see Elena Rybakina and Emma Raducanu signing up to play the WTA 1000 event together.

Neither of them plays doubles too much because they’re so focused on singles, but Rybakina still appears on the doubles court semi-frequently. On the other hand, seeing Raducanu's name in the doubles draw was a surprise for fans, but lots were excited.

What made it even better was that they signed up to play together, which would have been the first time they paired up. It was a fascinating pairing on paper because of the size and power of Rybakina and Raducanu’s shot-making ability.

Unfortunately, the excitement was short-lived because the pairing would not make it to the courts. The 2021 US Open champion and the 2022 Wimbledon champion withdrew from the doubles event due to unspecified reasons.

It was a late withdrawal, so it was probably a decision made in the moment. Neither is injured because both have already played singles so far. Raducanu defeated Serena Williams 6-4, 6-0, and Victoria Azarenka 6-0, 6-2.

Rybakina, on the other hand, bested Mayar Sherif 6-3, 6-2, and Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 6-1. Those are some amazing starts for both, so it’s very likely that they simply elected to focus on singles since they started so well and are playing at a very high level.

Sania Mirza and Lucie Hradecka will now face Caroline Garcia and Petra Martic instead of Rybakina and Raducanu, as they replaced them in the draw.

As for the singles, Rybakina will now face Alison Riske in the next round, while Raducanu is set to play native player Jessica Pegula. Both matches are third-round matches.

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