The Kazakh tennis player Elena Rybakina has spoken out about her unexpected withdrawal from the Paris Olympics.
She claims she has “acute bronchitis” and that her doctors have forbidden her from competing at the Summer Games this year.
Rybakina’s name was listed in the Olympic main draw on Thursday. She was paired with Jaqueline Cristian in the opening round of the singles competition, and she and Alexander Bublik found out they would be playing the United States’ Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz in the mixed doubles opening match.
However, after that, there were whispers going around that Rybakina had vanished from the website and might have decided not to compete in the event. Those speculations were validated on Thursday night when it was recently revealed that the 2022 Wimbledon champion will be withdrawing from the competition without giving a reason.
But Rybakina cleared the air with a detailed explanation that she shared on social media, saying she didn’t want people speculating about the reasons behind their withdrawal. The 25-year-old Kazakh claimed in her statement that she tried going back to training but that her body wasn’t reacting properly. After all of that, the physicians advised Rybakina, the fourth-ranked player in the world, to abstain from all physical activity.
“Hello, Kazakhstanis! It is with great sadness that I must inform you that I will not be able to compete in the Olympics in Paris. I had acute bronchitis after the Wimbledon competition, and even though I tried to get back into training, my body hasn’t fully healed. “I was absolutely prohibited by doctors from playing on the court,” Rybakina stated in a statement that she shared on Instagram.
“I sincerely apologize for not being able to live up to your expectations and represent our team in the Olympics in Paris. I worked so hard to earn gold for Kazakhstan in the Paris Games after coming so close to a medal in Tokyo.
Sadly, illness kept these plans from materializing. I hope the athletes from Kazakhstan have great fortune and triumph in Paris! I will support all of our athletes and have faith in their ability to dutifully represent our nation in the Olympics.”
The Rybakina statement from the Kazakh Tennis Federation
In a statement regarding Rybakina’s withdrawal, the Kazakh Tennis Federation also confirmed that the tennis player was, in fact, ill. The federation also stated in their letter that Rybakina was not permitted to perform in Paris and that her allegation against the doctors was accurate.
“The Kazakhstan Tennis Federation regrets to inform that the leader of the women’s national tennis team Elena Rybakina will not be able to take part in the XXXIII Summer Olympic Games in Paris for health reasons,” said the Kazakh Tennis Federation.
Elena currently has acute bronchitis, and her physicians have sternly barred her from traveling by plane to the competition in addition to playing on the court. In an attempt to perform at a high level at the Olympics, Rybakina was training hard for the games, but illness made this impossible.
“Elena is sincerely wished a swift recovery and a successful return to the court by the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation. We have faith in her abilities and eagerly await her comeback to training and tournaments.”
Rybakina would have been a favorite in Paris after her successful Olympic debut.
Rybakina wasn’t a favorite to win the gold medal when the competition got underway in 2021, but she did wind up going extremely near to taking home at least a portion of the three medals.
Following three straight-set victories to begin her Olympic career in Tokyo, Rybakina also defeated world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza 7-5 6-1 in the quarterfinals.
However, Rybakina lost to Belinda Bencic in a close battle in three sets in the semifinals, and she also lost to Elina Svitolina in three sets in the bronze medal match. It was especially heartbreaking to lose to Svitolina because the Kazakh got off to a great start and Svitolina rallied to win 1-6 7-6 (5) 6-4.
Along with Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauf, Rybakina would have been one of the heavy favorites to win the title if she had competed at the Olympics in Paris.
For Rybakina, there’s still optimism that she can get past her health problems in the coming months and at the very least be well-prepared for the US Open.
It’s unclear if Rybakina will have to skip either of the next WTA 1000 events in Cincinnati and Toronto.
