BACK BREAKING! Elena Rybakina retires bang in the middle of Stuttgart Open, French Open worries crop up

Elena Rybakina retired mid-match in the Stuttgart Open due to a troubling lower back injury

BACK BREAKING! Elena Rybakina retires bang in the middle of Stuttgart Open, French Open worries crop up

Credit: Reuters

World no. 7 and player having the most promising player of 2023 Elena Rybakina, had to retire from Stuttgart Open due to a painful lower back injury. Elena was playing the round of 16 match against Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia when she decided to retire from the match. A tough break for the 23-year-old, as she is gradually becoming a crowd favorite for this clay season. The player herself was gearing up to win her second Grand Slam title at the French Open. So this injury causes big concerns for her ambitions.

Rybakina looked in great discomfort right from the start of the match. She called for a medical timeout after having won only 1 point in the first set. She then called for the second timeout in the second set when she was down with a score of 2-1. The player was not able to move well on the court as she usually does. In the first set though, she had a couple of breakpoints she was not able to capitalize on them due to her lower back.

https://youtu.be/-ytlZ4dQF7w

Elena Rybakina, who has been in the form of her life in 2023, has looked quite dangerous on all surfaces, including clay. She had a very comfortable first-round victory against Jule Niemeier (7-5, 6-3) at the Porsche Grand Prix, Stuttgart Open. The stage was set for her to clash with rival Ons Jabeur in the quarter-final if she had moved past Haddad Maia. But fate had different plans.

FS Video

Related: Elena Rybakina calls Wimbledon’s decision to allow Russian players as the ‘RIGHT THING’

Elena Rybakina’s clay court journey

Q 1682056379
Credit: Supersport

In 2023, Elena Rybakina has won all of the matches she had played to completion. In the Billie Jean King Cup, the Kazakh player defeated Magda Linette and Weronika Falkowska in easy 2-set matches. Though 2023 has been a great year for her so far, with the Australian Open finals and Indian Wells Championship title, the best season on clay for Rybakina came in 2021. She reached the semi-finals of the French Open upon defeating Serena Williams in the quarter-finals. The match with Williams shot up Rybakina’s popularity manifold. In the semi-final she was outclassed by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

In 2023, most of Elena’s success has come on hard courts so far. Roland Garros commented after her Indian Wells victory, saying, “No matter what the surface, no matter what the venue, talent will out.”

Hope to see Elena recover from the injury and be fully ready for the big wig of all clay events, the French Open. French Open 2023 starts on May 28th and ends on June 11th.

In case you missed it: