Illness casts doubt over Wimbledon champion’s ability to defend title

James Richardson 26 Jun 2023 6:37 PM

Elena Rybakina’s preparation for Wimbledon has been hampered by a viral illness that has forced her to withdraw from the Rothesay International at Eastbourne this week.

Fully fit and healthy, Rybakina would be the clear favourite for the Wimbledon title but the illness concerns that have dogged her since the French Open have cast doubt over her readiness to defend the title.

She had been due to start her second tournament since Roland Garros at Eastbourne on Monday against Chinese qualifier Wang Xiyu but was a late withdrawal from the match.

Rybakina notified the tournament in time to see her replaced in the draw with Wang instead set to face world No 10 Barbora Krejcikova in her opening match.

The Kazakhstan No 1 revealed that her efforts to get back to full training had been frustrated by the illness which kept her confined to her hotel room in Paris for several days.

The illness caused Rybakina to withdraw from her third round match at Roland Garros.

She returned to action in Berlin last week but lost to eventual finalist Donna Vekic in a flat performance in the second round.

Rybakina hopes to be back to full fitness in time to start her Wimbledon defence.

“At the French Open after I withdrew I went back to the hotel and it was even worse so I had to stay in Paris for a few days not leaving the room,”Rybakina said in a statement issued on Monday.

“I started my preparation week after just slowly starting and it was tough since it was a virus.

“So I still think that I’m not 100 per cent physically where I want to be but slowly it’s getting better and hopefully I can get some more matches here and feel more comfortable at Wimbledon.”

Rybakina has seen a promising season derailed somewhat by the illness but cannot be written off as a contender.

After being the unfortunate runner-up in a belter of an Australian Open final against Aryna Sabalenka earlier this year, Rybakina went on to secure WTA 1000 titles at Indian Wells and in Rome and was one win away from clinching the Sunshine Double before being denied by Petra Kvitova.

Rybakina is a prospective member of an emerging ‘big three’ of women’s tennis alongside world No 1 Iga Swiatek and Sabalenka.

She has beaten Swiatek in their last three meetings but is 1-4 in her head-to-head record against Sabalenka.

There are concerns that this illness could cast a shadow over Rybakina’s Wimbledon title defence.