"Harry Kane has a reputation he can’t score in big games... Hope that doesn’t happen for Elena Rybakina": Andrea Petkovic on Kazakh's Dubai withdrawal
Andrea Petkovic has outlined her concerns about Elena Rybakina's scheduling decisions after the latter's withdrawal from the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships.
Rybakina rebounded admirably after her second-round exit at the Australian Open, clinching the Abu Dhabi Open title and securing a runner-up finish to Iga Swiatek at the Qatar Open.
However, her promising streak was halted in Dubai as she missed her chance of clinching the WTA 1000 title, being forced to withdraw from the tournament due to gastrointestinal illness before her quarterfinal clash against eventual champion Jasmine Paolini.
Petkovic and Stubbs weighed in on Elena Rybakina's Dubai withdrawal and her overall tournament schedule on the latest episode of the 'Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.'
Petkovic stated that while the Kazakh's scheduling decisions during the Middle East swing weren't as egregious as her demanding schedule before the Australian Open, it was still a cause for concern regarding her 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 (at 40:16).
"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.
Petkovic further conceded that while her illness was simply "bad luck," it lent credence to a trend of the 24-year-old tiring herself out in the lead-up tournaments 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]," Petkovic said.
With a short turnaround before the WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells, where the World No. 4 is the defending champion, Stubbs emphasized the need to "keep an eye on her schedule."
Andrea Petkovic then drew a parallel to Bayern Munich star and the captain of the England national team, Harry Kane, shedding light on his apparent reputation for struggling in big games and expressing her desire for Elena Rybakina to avoid a similar fate.
"I’m just afraid of the Harry Kane situation. I said it to you before, Harry Kane, amazing footballer, I love him so much. He scores so many goals and he’s at Bayern Munich now in Germany so that’s why I know this well but he did similar things in England. He’s such a great scorer and then it comes to an important game and he just can’t find the goal and he’s missing big chances and now he’s getting that reputation," she said.
"He’s not that young anymore and he’s gotten a reputation, in England and beyond, that he can’t score in big games. And that’s not exactly true, of course he has scored in big games but that’s just the reputation he has now. And I hope that doesn’t happen for Rybakina," Petkovic added.
"It's getting tougher and tougher physically" - Elena Rybakina raised concerns about her hectic schedule before Dubai withdrawal
Elena Rybakina advanced to the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships with a hard-fought 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4 win over Magdalena Frech, setting up a clash against Jasmine Paolini in the last four.
Following her win, the World No. 4 opened up about the toll of her hectic schedule during the Middle East swing, disclosing that the physical strain increased with every match.
"It's just the beginning of the year. Of course, it’s a great start, but it's not easy. Most important is to stay healthy. With every match, it's getting tougher and tougher physically but really happy with the start of the year, hopefully, I just can continue like this," Elena Rybakina said in her on-court interview.
Just a day later, the Kazakh withdrew from the WTA 1000 event with illness, before her match against Paolini. Elena Rybakina is expected to be back in action at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, which commences on March 6.