"If I cannot breathe, there is no chance I can even run and try to compete" - Elena Rybakina on French Open 2023 withdrawal

Elena Rybakina recently shed light on her French Open 2023 withdrawal. The Kazakh professional pulled out of the French Open on Saturday, June 3, just minutes before her third-round clash against Sara Sorribes Tormo.

In the press conference held right after, Rybakina, who was one of the favorites for the title, stated that she went through a couple of sleepless nights before she made the call on Saturday.

“I was not feeling good already yesterday and the day before, so I didn't sleep two nights and had some fever,” Elena Rybakina said. “I had fever, headache. I mean, I think you can hear also.”

“It was after my second match. 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,” she added.

Elena Rybakina’s decision came as a shock to the tennis world, as she was spotted on the practice court a few hours before her third-round match.

“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 explained.

Rybakina, ranked fourth in the world, recently spoke about her allergies. The Kazakh revealed that she picked up a virus in the French capital due to her weakened immune system.

“I saw the doctor, and they said that actually it's all a virus here in Paris. I guess with my allergy, immune system just went down and I picked up something,” she said. “I got some medication. As soon as I started to feel bad, I took everything what I could. But, I mean, health is health and the body just needs some time.”

Elena Rybakina further explained how she reached the difficult decision to end her French Open campaign. She stated that she was facing difficulty breathing and wouldn’t have been able to carry on in the match for over ten minutes.

“I think it's just overall feeling that I cannot stay on the court more than 10 minutes," the recently crowned Italian Open champion 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.”

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"Most important to get healthy again" – Elena Rybakina ahead of her grass court campaign after French Open withdrawal

Elena Rybakina witnessed remarkable success in the past 12 months. The 23-year-old lifted her first Major title at Wimbledon in 2022. She followed it up by making the finals of the Australian Open in 2023.

Rybakina also clinched her maiden WTA 1000 trophy at Indian Wells in 2023 and fell one win short of claiming the Sunshine Double -- finishing the swing as the Miami Open runner-up.

Right before her quest to win a second Grand Slam was cut short due to her illness at the ongoing French Open, the Kazakh picked up her second WTA 1000 title at the Italian Open.

Rybakina will now head directly into the grass court season as the new World No. 3, where she will look forward to defending her Wimbledon title. Rybakina, however, stated that her primary focus is to recover from her sickness.

“For now, focus for sure to get better," she said in her latest press conference. "But the plan was to play Berlin, Eastbourne, and Wimbledon. There are not many tournaments on grass, but most important to get healthy again. Yeah, that was the plan."