Elena Rybakina joined the growing list of players who will miss the 2024 Paris Olympics, as an injury forced her to withdraw from the tournament.
There is simply something unlucky with Rybakina and Paris. Two years ago, the Kazakhtani players looked really good and marched on to the second week at the French Open, but then she picked up a sickness.
This year, she also dealt with some problems that prevented her from playing well against Jasmine Paolini, which is why she lost in the quarter-final. Now, ahead of the Olympics, Rybakina once again was forced to abandon plans of playing in Paris.
She was among those likely to make a really deep run at the Olympic Games, but something simply did not work out in Paris. These Olympic Games have been cursed for many tennis players, as the list of withdrawals is incredibly long.
Quite a few notable players already dropped out earlier, with Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner also withdrawing recently. Now it's Rybakina again, and again it's a sickness that forced her to withdraw.
She announced her withdrawal on social media, stating that she has been dealing with acute bronchitis since Wimbledon, which has prevented her from practicing at all.
She wanted to play and did her best to recover as quickly as possible, but as written in her social media post, doctors forbade her from playing. That's a clear and stern warning not to push herself, and as much as she would have loved to, Rybakina will listen to the advice, withdrawing from the Olympic tournament.
"It is hard for me to tell you this, but unfortunately, I will not be able to take part in the Olympics in Paris. After the Wimbledon tournament, I fell ill with acute bronchitis, and despite attempts to return to training, my body has not yet recovered. Doctors forbade me to go out on the court."
Rybakina did really well at the last Olympics for Kazakhstan, which makes this even more devastating for her. She had high hopes that she could represent the country well, especially after missing out on a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, placing fourth, but unfortunately, the dream didn't come true for her.
"I am very sorry that I will not be able to justify your hopes and compete for our team at the Olympics in Paris. I was so close to a medal in Tokyo and carefully prepared for the Paris Games to win gold for Kazakhstan. Unfortunately, illness prevented these plans from coming true."
She, of course, wished all the other athletes from the country competing at the Games the best of luck as she would be watching and cheering on from the sidelines.
"I wish all Kazakhstani athletes good luck and success in Paris. I will root for all our athletes and believe that they will be able to worthily represent our country at the Olympics. Alga, Kazakhstan!"
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