Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, one of the top four seeds at the US Open, has withdrawn from the competition due to an undisclosed injury. Rybakina was scheduled to face French qualifier Jessika Ponchet in the second round on Thursday, but withdrew before the match.
“Unfortunately, I have to withdraw from my match today due to my injuries,” Rybakina said in a statement. “I didn’t want to finish the last Grand Slam of the year this way but I have to listen to my body and hopefully I can close out the rest of the year strong.”
With the absence of Rybakina, Ponchet, who is not ranked, now advances to the third round.
No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina withdrew from the 2024 US Open on Thursday due to injury, placing French qualifier Jessika Ponchet in the third round.https://t.co/Rud4WHsJ6v
– US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2024
The US Open now marks the seventh time this year that Rybakina has withdrawn from competition due to illness or injury. This summer alone, the 25-year-old withdrew early from a match at the Berlin Grass Court Championships in June and withdrew from the Eastbourne International a week later.
Rybakina returned to play at Wimbledon – the competition where she won her only Grand Slam title, in 2022 – but lost in the semi-final to eventual winner Barbora Krejčiková. Rybakina later withdrew from the 2024 Paris Olympics due to acute bronchitis.
As the No. 4 seed, Rybakina was the top seed in her quarter of the group. In her absence, No. 15 seed Anna Kalinskaya is the highest-ranked player remaining in this section.