By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday June 3, 2023
Considered a potential title contender at Roland-Garros, and heading into the third round riding an eight-match clay-court winning streak, Elena Rybakina has been forced to withdraw due to illness.
The No.4 seed hands a walkover to Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.
“I was not feeling good already yesterday and the day before, so I didn't sleep two nights and had some fever,” Rybakina said . “Today I really tried on the warmup, but I feel that the right decision is to withdraw, because it's really tough to play with these conditions.”
Rybakina said she started to feel symptoms on Thursday, after she defeated Linda Noskova in straight sets to reach the third round.
“It was after my second match,” she said. “Yeah, everything was going well. I don't know. Just all of a sudden I start to feel bad, and it was not better at all.”
The reigning Wimbledon champion says she intends to play a full grass-court season, competing at Berlin, Eastbourne and Wimbledon.
But competing this week in Paris, after picking up a virus, proved to be too much.
“I think it's just overall feeling that I cannot stay on the court more than 10 minutes,” she said. “I do one rally, and it's just -- and it was just the warmup from the middle of the court. So if I cannot breathe, there is no chance I can even run and try to compete. So I think that's it."
Photo Source: Clive Brunskill/Getty