Defending champion Elena Rybakina withdraws from Indian Wells 2024 hours before opening match due to illness
Defending champion Elena Rybakina has withdrawn from the 2024 Indian Wells Open due to illness.
Rybakina was set to resume her hunt for her first WTA 1000 title of the season after a gastrointestinal illness had forced her to pull out of her Dubai Tennis Championships quarterfinal. The Kazakh was due to kick off her Indian Wells title defense against Nadia Podoroska in the second round on Friday, March 8.
However, hours before her tournament opener, Elena Rybakina announced her withdrawal from the tournament due to lingering issues from her gastrointestinal illness. The World No. 4 expressed her regret at having to forgo her title defense as she sent out a heartfelt apology to her fans.
She also conveyed her intention to be back in action after recuperating from her illness.
"It is with great sadness I must announce, I will not be able to participate at this years 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," Elena Rybakina said.
"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," she added.
Rybakina triumphed at Indian Wells last year after delivering a strong run to the title. She beat Sofia Kenin, Paula Badosa, Karolina Muchova and Iga Swiatek to set up a blockbuster title clash against Aryna Sabalenka.
The Kazakh claimed a 7-6(11), 6-4 win over Sabalenka to clinch her maiden Indian Wells as well as first WTA 1000 title.
Andrea Petkovic raised concerns about Elena Rybakina's demanding schedule after Kazakh's Dubai withdrawal
Andrea Petkovic raised concerns about Elena Rybakina's demanding schedule after her withdrawal from the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Petkovic pointed out that, like Rybakina's grueling schedule before the Australian Open, she had exhausted all reserves before the WTA 1000 event due to her less-than-ideal workload management.
"We talked about Elena Rybakina and Rybakina’s scheduling and I wanted to touch back on that because she kind of did it again. Not in the same manner as she did before the Australian Open, but she went on to play every single tournament that was possible in the Middle East and she played great," she said on the 'Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.'
"She won in Abu Dhabi, she made the final in Doha and then she had to pull out in the biggest of the three tournaments, the WTA 1000, the one where you do get the biggest points, the biggest prize money, she had to pull out before the quarterfinal with gastroenteritis," Petkovic added.
While Petkovic acknowledged that Rybakina's gastrointestinal illness was simply "bad luck," she highlighted a worrying pattern of the World No. 4 wearing herself out before a big event.
"That’s bad luck. That’s kind of bad luck, but still it’s this theme of playing so well in the tournaments that lead up to the important (tournament)," she said.