Elena Rybakina Withdraws from Paris Olympics 2024 Due to Illness: Caroline Garcia Takes Seeded Spot
The announcement of Elena Rybakina’s withdrawal from the competition came as a shock to the women’s singles draw for the Paris Olympics on Thursday morning.
The Kazakhstan Tennis Federation announced that Rybakina was “suffering from acute bronchitis,” adding her to the list of players who were not playing.
News of Elena Rybakina’s resignation from the Olympics shocked the event shortly after the women’s singles draw was announced on Thursday morning in Paris.
The initial official communication notifying the news gave no explanation. The 25-year-old was later described as “suffering from acute bronchitis” by the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation, following a social media post from an official ITF account that initially mentioned “illness.”
Doctors “categorically forbade” Rybakina from training or even traveling to Paris for the competition, thus she was rushing to recover after falling unwell following Wimbledon, according to a statement she gave to the Federation:
“I’ve tried to go back to training, but my body hasn’t healed yet. I was absolutely forbidden by the doctors to go out on the court,” Rybakina wrote. “I sincerely apologize for not being able to fulfill your expectations and represent our team in the Olympics in Paris. I worked so hard to earn gold for Kazakhstan in the Paris Games after coming so close to a medal in Tokyo. Sadly, illness kept these plans from materializing.”
Rybakina, behind Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, was the third seed. She was predicted to play sixth seed Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals after landing in the same side as Swiatek. Rybakina’s withdrawal causes Caroline Garcia to move up to the No. 17 seed and face Jaqueline Cristian.
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The Australian Daria Saville is currently occupying Garcia’s initial game with Zheng in the first round, as the ripple effect continues down the draw.
In mixed doubles, Nadia Podoroska and Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina will take on Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz, the third-seeded team, in place of Rybakina and Alexander Bublik.
In 2024, rybakina has often begun and ended, mostly as a result of sickness. Her pre-tournament withdrawals include the Olympics, Eastbourne, Rome, and Indian Wells. Additionally, she retired four games into her Berlin second-round match and withdrew before her quarterfinal match in Dubai.
When the 25-year-old participated in Wimbledon last year, she lost to eventual winner Barbora Krejcikova in the semifinals. Her focus now shifts to the North American hardcourt swing, where she will play in Toronto starting on August 6 at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
