After missing Kazakhstan’s Billie Jean King Cup clash against Spain, Elena Rybakina is now ready to return to action. She has arrived in Beijing and will be in action at the China Open. But the concerns around her physical condition still loom large. The Kazakh had picked up an Achilles tendon injury at the Cincinnati Masters and thus had to play through the pain at the US Open. But she has now given a positive injury update ahead of her participation in the China Open.

“Since I was resting, my foot was a bit better,” she said in the pre-tournament press conference. “Now I’m back on the court, I still feel here and there. Again, I try to push myself, see how far I can go in this tournament. Mentally, I think now I’m better. It’s been a lot of things after US Open definitely. Yeah I’m ready.”

It would have been quite disappointing if Rybakina had to spend a long time on the sidelines right after winning the US Open and taking over the No. 1 spot on the rankings. Fortunately for her, it seems that her injury has healed well, and that is why she has decided to play in Beijing. The 27-year-old will be taking on Russian-born Armenian Alina Charaeva in the Round of 64.

After clinching the title at Flushing Meadows, Rybakina went back to Kazakhstan to have her injury examined and also meet her fans. Having become the first-ever player from Kazakhstan to reach the No. 1 spot, she has become a major source of inspiration for the younger generation of tennis players in the country.

Having significantly improved her form on hard courts, Rybakina will be confident about pulling off positive results in the Asian swing. Her performance in the China and Wuhan Open will be quite important as both of them are Masters 1000 events. Luckily for Rybakina, she doesn’t have a lot of points to defend in both tournaments.

This is because she was eliminated in the Round of 32 at the China Open last year. This was followed by a defeat to Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals of the Wuhan Open. Additionally, Rybakina has already secured qualification for the WTA Finals, so she won’t be under a lot of pressure. But she would definitely want to end the season on a positive note and hold on to the No. 1 spot.

There also don’t seem to be a lot of concerns around her fitness. She was seen practicing alongside Coco Gauff in Beijing on September 28. The American later played down all concerns regarding Rybakina’s injury.

Coco Gauff was pretty positive about Elena Rybakina’s trajectory ahead of the China Open

“I mean, you reach a certain age, things start to come together,” she said in a press-conference before the China Open. “You start doing well, being more consistent. I think that’s where she’s (Rybakina) at, in her prime. Yeah, but I think she’s going to win many more.”

Rybakina has been quite strong on hard courts this season in particular. She hasn’t just won the Australian Open and US Open, but also had a remarkable North American swing.

She reached the final of the Canadian Open and made it to the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Masters. She was eliminated by Iga Swiatek on both occasions, with the second result being a mid-match retirement. It remains to be seen whether Rybakina will be able to keep up this form in Asia.

Though the World No. 1 has never faced Charaeva in a tour-level match before, she will still be the clear favorite to win and advance to the next round. With the way her form is going, it is hard to argue against Rybakina’s chances of winning the China Open.