“The schedule overall is packed,” Elena Rybakina reveals why she won’t defend the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

Elena Rybakina has struggled on the court this season and is yet to get to any tournament final, despite being a very talented player.

“The schedule overall is packed,” Elena Rybakina reveals why she won’t defend the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

Elena Rybakina (Image via X/Jimmie48 Photography)

Elena Rybakina’s 2025 season is set to get worse as she has revealed that she won’t defend the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The 2024 champion will now drop 500 points for not participating in the tournament, which will eventually see her drop out of the WTA Top 10 by next week. The former World No.3 revealed the reason behind her decision.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion won the WTA tournament in Stuttgart after beating Iga Swiatek in the semi-final and defeating Marta Kostyuk in the final. The title was her last till date. She decided not to play at the WTA 500 event which began on Monday (April 14) but opted to represent her country at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers.

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She helped Kazakhstan top Group D of the national event after beating Australia and Colombia in Brisbane. The 25-year-old won both her singles matches over the weekend at the event. However, with the tournament held in Australia, it was hard for Rybakina to scramble back to Europe and play on clay, a surface she hadn’t adequately prepared for.

That led her to decide not to participate in Stuttgart, but the decision came at a cost as it would affect her ranking. She revealed that her schedule is overall packed and has made it difficult for her to participate.

I know that the schedule overall is very packed, and it’s not easy to even schedule Billie Jean King Cup,. But ideally, if we go to one part of the world, it will be nicer to play the same part. Now, for example, the clay court [season] starts and [some have] already played even tournaments on clay. So to come back and play hard, it’s a bit tricky. And ideally, if there is a tournament, it’s better to schedule it closer to where we want to be.

Elena Rybakina said

Rybakina’s last WTA match ended in a three-set loss against Ashlyn Krueger at the Miami Open. The World No.10 has failed to win a title this season and has not been to any final despite being one of the most talented players on Tour.

Elena Rybakina says she’s happy with her decision not to play at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

This is not the first time Elena Rybakina has failed to be at a tournament as the defending champion. The Kazakhstan star did it last year, when she missed the Indian Wells which was due to injury. However, her opting to play at the BJK Cup rather than the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a shock to tennis fans. Top players like Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula withdrew from playing at the WTA 500 event. Rybakina revealed she was happy with her decision.

Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina (Image via X/#AusOpen)

I can’t play all the tournaments. Of course Stuttgart is nice, but I always like to play team competitions. It’s nice to play for your country, so I’m happy to make this decision and I’m happy to play finals [in Shenzhen].

Elena Rybakina said

Nonetheless, Kazakhstan’s 2-0 win in the qualifiers of the BJK Cup helped them secure their place in the Finals in September. The tournament will be staged in Shenzhen, China.

Elena Rybakina’s season has been struggle-laden

Elena Rybakina has struggled on the court and off-court this season. In fact, her off court issues have somehow crept into her performance. She began the year bringing back Stefano Vukov, who was suspended by the WTA, despite already being in partnership with Novak Djokovic’s ex-coach Goran Ivanisevic.

Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina (Image via X)

Her actions led to a lot of scrutiny by the media because Vukov had been alleged to have mistreated Rybakina. Though she claimed the allegations were not true, further investigations by the WTA said otherwise. Ivanisevic left her team after the Australian Open and that saw her fail to defend the Abu Dhabi title.

She began the year as World No.5 in the WTA rankings but she’s set to drop six places from that position. Rybakina will have to do something to get her season back on track and go on to win titles again. She will be back on the court at the Madrid Open and also the Italian Open in Rome.