The 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina was among the favorites to lift the title at the French Open. Her powerful serve, combined with a skilled style of play, menaces every opponent. Many expected the Moscow-born tennis star to give a tough time to Pole Iga Swiatek and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. Her record in the past year indicated that her triumph on French soil was due. However, Rybakina decided to pull out of the tournament due to illness.

The news struck like a thunderbolt on her fans on social media. Her triumph at the Italian Open recently had further given rise to the hopes of her lifting the championship in France.

Elena Rybakina struggled to ‘even to breathe’

The fans of the 23-year-old Kazakhstan star expected her to repeat the wonders of the past one year on the French soil. But the “virus in Paris” upset all her plans. While answering the questions of the reporters, Rybakina explained how fever and headache have impacted her performance.

She quoted the doctors of having diagnosed her with a viral infection. Further, she added how such a condition forced her to withdraw from the tournament. Rybakina explained, “Yeah, well, I saw the doctor, and they said that actually it’s all a virus here in Paris. Yeah, I guess with my allergy, the immune system just went down.

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She further added, “And I picked up something. As I said, I was not sleeping well for two days. I had fever,headache. I mean, I think you can hear as well. So, yeah, it’s difficult to perform and obviously to run and even breathe. So I think that was the only right decision I could make.”

Prioritizing health to prepare for grass season

The Russian-born star called herself unlucky for not being able to participate in the tournament anymore while talking to the reporters, according to Reuters. Also, she talked about her plan to prepare for the grass season, especially Wimbledon, as she is the defending champion at SW19. The Kazakh star revealed her approach to prioritize health to be fit for the tournaments ahead.

Read More: Here’s Why Russian-Born Wimbledon Semifinalist Elena Rybakina Changed Her Nationality to Kazakh

Rybakina has secured a career-high ranking of four. Experts consider her powerful serve, combined with an exceptional backhand makes her a formidable opponent on grass. Her fans missed her Indian Wells and Italian Open spark in France. But maybe they will see it in the grass season.

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