Elena Rybakina will not be defending her Indian Wells title which she won last year after withdrawing before her second-round match and the reason behind it has been confirmed by the player.
On Friday, the tournament shared upsetting news that the Kazakh pulled out just hours before taking to the court to face Nadia Podoroska. Rybakina had traveled to Indian Wells and practiced for a few days. Nobody saw her withdrawal coming.
Tennis fans were left speculating that she could have hurt herself during a practice session which is not uncommon for tennis players who engage in intense workout and tennis drills before major tournaments like Indian Wells which is a WTA 1000 and is played for almost two weeks.
But Rybakina has issued a statement through the Indian Wells official X account (formerly Twitter) explaining that she had been battling gastrointestinal issues. it appears the same problem she experienced while competing in Dubai last month until her withdrawal there has recurred.''
"It is with great sadness I must announce, I will not be able to participate at this year's Indian Wells tournament due to gastrointestinal issues. Those close to me know how much this tournament means to me and how much I wanted to come back and defend my title."
Rybakina is set to lose 1000 ranking points and will be unable to overtake Coco Gauff for the World No. 3 ranking at the end of the tournament. The 24-year-old also apologized to her fans in stateside who had eagerly waited to watch her in action.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion is hoping to recover as soon as possible and compete to the "best of her abilities" ahead of a busy period on the calendar with the Miami Open and the start of the clay swing on the horizon.
"I would like to thank all the fans who came out here to support me and I am sorry they will not get a chance to see me play this year. Now I will rest and recover so I can come out and play and compete for my fans to the best of my abilities once again."
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