Elena Rybakina endured a very brutal week at the 2023 Canadian Open in Montreal, and she may not commit to playing at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters after her exit.
Rybakina finished off her journey in Montreal on the final day of the event, but she didn't play in the final. That's generally impossible, but thanks to the generosity of the rainy weather in Montreal, Rybakina got the rare chance to contest a semi-final on Sunday.
She lost that match in three sets despite opening it well, and in ways, it was a relief for Rybakina. She endured some brutal scheduling finishing a match at 3 am and voiced her displeasure about it openly. She also explained that she picked up some injuries, which is why she wouldn't commit to playing in Cincinnati when asked about it.
Speaking after her loss to Samsonova, Rybakina confirmed that she'll evaluate how she feels after this match before making any changes to her US Open schedule, which, for now, still includes the Cincinnati Masters. Things could change in the coming hours or days, but we'll hear about it if they do.
It's tough to say. Now I have to see how I feel and evaluate the small injuries which I have now, so we will see. Yeah, I have to be smart in making any decision because US Open is soon.
The event overall was a very good one for Rybakina in terms of her tennis, but it's just that the schedule really made it tough for her to recover in time. As she said, the US Open will be a priority because she's in the small circle of players that could potentially win it.
Playing a WTA 1000 tournament with injuries doesn't do anything but increase the risk of a bigger injury which would basically end her US Open title aspirations. She's not going to compromise that.