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  • Elena Rybakina gives fitness update after unexpected withdrawal from French Open 2023
Elena Rybakina at the 2023 French Open

Elena Rybakina gives fitness update after unexpected withdrawal from French Open 2023

Kazakh tennis ace Elena Rybakina has posted an update on her recovery process after suddenly pulling out of the 2023 French Open.

Rybakina was seed No. 4 at the 2023 French Open and played well in the first two rounds. But she had to pull out of the tournament just before her third-round match on Saturday, June 3.

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The 2022 Wimbledon champion was seen practicing hours before her match against Sara Sorribes Tormo, but ended up withdrawing from the tournament due to a respiratory illness.

"I was not feeling good already the day before, so I did not sleep tonight and had some fever, and today I really tried on the warm-up, and I feel the right decision is to withdraw because it’s really tough to play with these conditions," Elena Rybakina said at the time.

Four days after her withdrawal, Rybakina took to social media to update her fans on her health.

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"Finally got outside #stepstorecovery," the World No. 4 captioned a picture of herself. "P.S. got tired after a 30-minute walk..."

In her first two matches at the 2023 French Open, the Kazakh defeated Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-4, 6-2 and Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-3.

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The 23-year-old is expected to be ready for the grasscourt season, but it is unclear when exactly she will return to competition.


Elena Rybakina's coach Stefano Vukov calls out Jelena Ostapenko

Elena Rybakina and Jelena Ostapenko at the Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2023
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Things got very heated during the 2023 Italian Open semifinal match between Elena Rybakina and Jelena Ostapenko. Ostapenko seemed to have said something to the Kazakh, but it was unclear as to what.

Rybakina's coach Stefano Vukov was heard telling someone that he had heard Ostapenko calling his protege "a b**ch." This happened when the players were going back to the locker rooms because of a rain delay.

"She told her you're a b*tch in front of me right now. And I say, listen, after we talk," Vukov was heard saying during the TV broadcast.

Rybakina ended up winning the match in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. She then proceeded to lift the title in Rome, after Anhelina Kalinina had to retire in the second set of the final, at 4-6, 0-1.

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Edited by
Aditya Singh
 
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