Elena Rybakina had mixed feelings after losing to Danielle Collins in the Miami Open final since it seemed like she had overcome her recent health problems.
The Kazakh player appears to have recovered rather well from the digestive issues that compelled her to withdraw from the WTA in Dubai and miss the WTA 1000 in Indian Wells.
She emphasized during the news conference how difficult it was to monitor the game, in part because of the US player’s support.
She expressed her remarks in the press conference and said: “Obviously I expected the crowd to be more supportive of her but I think they were supportive of me, especially in the more difficult moments when I was trying to come back. There was a nice atmosphere, it’s not something I focused on. It was great playing up front.”
But Rybakina was not happy with where her matches were scheduled, and during the most recent press conference, she took a strong stance against the Miami Open organizers.
She added: “No, I didn’t feel 100%. After the match with Maria Sakkari, she was very tough physically. It wasn’t an easy tournament. The first games I played were late at night, at the end of the day, and I went to sleep around 2 or 3 in the morning. Then I had a few meetings during the day, so the program varied too much. It doesn’t help for recovery. There were some very difficult challenges, some of which I won with a bit of luck. I didn’t expect to be fresh for the final, she played very well and she deserved to win.”
Elena Rybakina in 2024
Currently ranked no.4, the Kazakhstani played her last match on the 30th of March when she surrendered to world no.22 Danielle Collins 7-5 6-3 in the final in Miami (draw).
This season the Kazakhstani owns an overall 22-4 record. Elena has won 2 titles in 2024 in Brisbane and Abu Dhabi. The Kazakhstani was the runner-up in Doha and Miami.