Rybakina retires injured against Swiatek, misses chance to become World No. 1

Elena Rybakina’s bid to become World No. 1 ended after she retired from her Cincinnati Open quarterfinal against Iga Swiatek with a left ankle injury. Aryna Sabalenka will retain the top ranking ahead of next week’s US Open.

Cincinnati: Elena Rybakina’s quest to dethrone Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the WTA Rankings ended when she was forced to retire from her Cincinnati Open quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek with a left ankle injury.

Swiatek was leading 4-1 with Rybakina serving at 40-15 when things first appeared to go wrong. Rybakina couldn’t finish off a rally at the net, and when Swiatek put a tough passing shot at her feet, the Kazakh missed the follow-up half volley and put her hands to her knees.

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She struggled to push off on her first serve on the next point, which lasted just three shots, and after a mid-game medical evaluation, Rybakina elected to end the match moments later, WTA reports.

Rybakina admitted that it was even painful to walk after the match, she said she hoped to learn more about the problem in the coming days. “Of course now I feel not the greatest, I couldn’t even push from the serve,” Rybakina said. It’s painful to walk, and we will know more tomorrow when I do the MRI.”

“It’s been bothering me for a long period of time. It was under control, but then after playing a lot of matches in Canada and coming here playing two matches in a row… It was feeling okay before the match but unfortunately one wrong movement, one landing, and something happened.”

After Sabalenka lost to Sara Bejlek in the fourth round on Wednesday, Rybakina needed to reach the final in Cincinnati to take the World No. 1 ranking. Instead, Sabalenka will retain the top spot going into the US Open next week, and Swiatek, the Toronto champion, will face Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.

“I hope Elena will be fine. The next tournament is the priority. I know this one is important as well. But US Open is US Open. I hope she’s gonna be ready for that. She’s super close to being No. 1 in the world. It’s a shame. I thought we were playing a good match. But health is a priority. I hope she’s gonna be OK,” Swiatek said.

Swiatek is bidding to become just the second woman since 2004 to successfully defending a Cincinnati title, after Serena Williams in 2014-15. She will take a 7-5 head-to-head record into her semifinal with Pegula, but the American has won four of their hard-court matches.