The curious case of Elena Rybakina

Ever since the World No. 4, Elena Rybakina, announced her withdrawal from the WTA 500 Korean Open, rumours have started flying around regarding her future in the sport. This was an astounding ninth withdrawal from a WTA tournament for the Kazakh player this season; she also withdrew from Round 2 of the US Open in September citing ambiguous injury and health issues.

It has been a mighty struggle for Rybakina this year and there seems to be no respite as the season draws to a close.

Rybakina started the 2024 season on a positive note, winning the Brisbane Open by convincingly beating Aryna Sabalenka in the finals. She was one of the favourites for the Australian Open title but got knocked out in the second round. However, she picked herself up and went on to perform exceedingly well in the Middle East swing, winning the Abu Dhabi Open, reaching the finals of the Qatar Open (losing to Iga Swiatek), and making it to the last eight in Dubai, which is when her health issues started to surface.

In the Dubai Open, Rybakina handed a walkover to Jasmine Paolini due to gastroenteritis. She then failed to defend her Indian Wells title, having not fully recovered from her illness, which also resulted in her dropping a massive 1000 ranking points. The story continued going into the Italian Open, where she failed to defend her WTA 1000 title yet again. 

The French Open came next, where Rybakina was shocked by Jasmine Paolini in the quarters, with her post-match comments suggesting that she had not completely recovered from her prior illness and was fatigued by the latter stages of the game. She was primed to start the grass court season by participating in the Berlin Open, but an abdominal injury forced her to withdraw in the second round. She then withdrew from the Eastbourne International, quoting scheduling decisions, and came into Wimbledon with hardly any practice. However, the 2022 Wimbledon Singles Champion did perform exceptionally on the grass, reaching the semis where she lost to eventual champion Barbora Krejcíková.  

Just when things had started to take a turn for the better, Rybakina’s situation got worse. She failed to participate in the Paris Olympics, blaming acute bronchitis, which ruled her out from the Canadian Open as well.

Things then got even more complicated as, a few days before the US Open, she announced that she had parted ways with Stefano Vukov, her coach of five years. The timing of this decision made very little sense before a major Grand Slam and hence drew surprising reactions from fans and experts alike. There had been instances captured during live games in previous tournaments where Vukov looked very intimidating and openly showed displeasure over her performances. There were times Rybakina had to defend their relationship in the media. Also, Vukov had been removed from the WTA roster of coaches, implying a coaching ban.

There were also serious doubts about her participation at the US Open after she missed the pre-tournament practice and was without a coach, but to the relief of her fans she turned up for the first round and won in straight sets. Prior to her second-round match, however, Rybakina stunned everyone with another withdrawal, stating health issues and injuries. Her statement at the time seemed very ambiguous, with no clear indication about either injury or illness.

Her latest withdrawal from the Korean Open has further added fuel to the fire, with fans and ex-players running amok with different kinds of theories and worrying about her future in tennis. This time, at least she has mentioned it’s a back injury preventing her from participation.

It’s a strange situation for a highly talented player who is looked upon as a major threat for any opponent. Rybakina is probably one of those few players on the women’s tour who has a great game on all surfaces. In addition to one of the best serves and an aggressive style of play, she also has a calm demeanour and hardly looks under pressure. It is indeed a shame for a player of her calibre to not win a Grand Slam or a WTA 1000 event this year.

Furthermore, there have been comments on social media from fans who think Rybakina is nonchalant and not serious about tennis. Some ex-players like Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters have spoken at length about her situation, speculating there’s more to it than meets the eye.

I wouldn’t want to add my own twist to any theories, but in my opinion Rybakina is not just going through a physical injury; she could also be fatigued mentally. Professional tennis is a lonely sport, and the pressure of expectations from high-ranked players, the media glare, and staying away from family and friends for most of the year can play on a player’s mind, especially when they are not performing up to expectations and suffering from persistent illness and/or injury issues.

The reason I speak about the mental aspect in particular is because, having followed Rybakina the entire season, she has seemed to me way out of sorts and unhappy on the court barring the start of the year and at Wimbledon. 

Ultimately, people can only speculate until she comes out in the open herself and provides some kind of explanation for her situation. All we can do as tennis aficionados is hope that it’s not a career-threatening injury or illness and hope for Rybakina to come back stronger and have an injury-free and successful 2025 and beyond.