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Elena Rybakina has officially withdrawn from the 2023 French Open prior to her third-round match.
Rybakina defeated Linda Noskova in straight sets on Thursday, winning 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the third round in Paris. She was set to face Sara Sorribes Tormo on Saturday, June 3 at 11:45 am local time. However, just minutes before the scheduled start of play, the Kazakh's unexpected withdrawal from the tournament was announced.
The official social media handle for Roland Garros shared the updated order of play for the day following Rybakina's withdrawal.
"Your order of play for Philippe-Chatrier today. Unfortunately, Elena Rybakina has had to withdraw from her match," the tweet read.
The reason behind Elena Rybakina's withdrawal has been revealed as an upper respiratory illness. The reigning Wimbledon champion disclosed that she had been been feeling unwell since her second-round match and had subsequently developed a fever. Her condition remained unchanged the following day as well, as she experienced symptoms such as fever, headache, and difficulty sleeping.
"I was not feeling good yesterday, I had some fever. Today it's the same. It's really rough to play," Rybakina said during her press conference.
"Fever, headache, I didn't sleep well. I started to feel the symptoms after my second match," she added.
Elena Rybakina enjoyed a dominant run during clay season in the lead-up to the French Open. She won the WTA 1000 Italian Open in Rome just a week prior and carried her impressive form into the clay court Major.
The Kazakh defeated Brenda Fruhvirtova in the first round in a commanding fashion, winning 6-4, 6-2. Her subsequent win over Noskova showed her to be in good form and hinted at the potential to surpass her previous best quarterfinals finish in 2021 prior to her unfortunate withdrawal from the tournament.
Elena Rybakina's opponent Sara Sorribes Tormo through to French Open 4R, her first time doing so at a Grand Slam
Elena Rybakina was set to take on Sara Sorribes Tormo in the third round of the French Open. Sorribes Tormo leads 1-0 in her head-to head against Rybakina. The Spaniard ground out a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 win over Rybakina in their only meeting so far at Miami in 2021.
Sorribes Tormo defeated Petra Martic 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour and 29 minutes to book her spot against the Kazakh. She will now take on the winner of the match between Ekaterina Alexandrova and Beatriz Haddad Maia in the fourth round. This marks the Spaniard's first-ever appearance in the Round of 16 in a Grand Slam tournament.
