Elena Rybakina said that her body began to suffer physically before long after she got hit with an illness ahead of the Miami Open.
Rybakina had a slight setback at the beginning of the Sunshine Double when she was unable to defend her Indian Wells title because of a stomach issue. Rybakina withdrew from Indian Wells and didn’t practice for the following eight days while attempting to heal.
However, Rybakina’s fatigue and exhaustion were felt in the Miami final against Danielle Collins, as the American defeated her 5-7, 3-6, with Rybakina making some simple blunders.
In her post-Miami final press conference, Rybakina said: “We (she and her team) were not expecting for me to be in the final). No, of course after I think about the match with Maria, it was already difficult physically. I was feeling the body, of course.”
She added: “And also, it was not an easy tournament, because first matches I was playing quite late, finishing, and then I was going to sleep around 2:00, 3:00. Then some matches were during the day. So the schedule was also up and down, and recovery doesn’t help, for sure. I mean, as I said, it was a lot of tough matches. Some of them went my way with a bit of luck here and there. This one didn’t, and of course, I was not expecting to be fresh in this final, and she played well, so.”
Elena Rybakina in 2024
Now ranked no.4, Rybakina played her last match on the 30th of March when she capitulated to world no.53 Danielle Collins 7-5 6-3 in the final in Miami (draw).
At present, during this year Rybakina owns a compiled 22-4 win-loss record. The Kazakhstani conquered 2 titles in 2024 in Brisbane and Abu Dhabi. Rybakina was the runner-up in Doha and Miami.