Elena Rybakina set to lose big in WTA Rankings after representing country instead of Stuttgart Open

One-time Grand Slam winner Elena Rybakina is set to lose a spot in the top-10 of the WTA rankings after recent developments. The 25-year-old, who is often regarded as one of the most talented players currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles category, is going through a rough patch.

Her most recent appearance was in the WTA 1000 event — the Miami Open — where she was knocked out after losing in the round of 64 to America’s Ashlyn Krueger with a score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. This year, she has played in six different WTA events but has never managed to play in the final of any competition.

Most recently, she decided to withdraw from the upcoming Stuttgart Open to take part in the Billie Jean King Cup. She lifted the title last year after beating Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2. With that, Rybakina is set to drop out of the top-10 WTA rankings. She was set to defend 500 points in the competition, but as she will not feature in the competition, she will lose those points, and subsequently, she will go out of the top-10 in WTA rankings. Most recently, Rybakina expressed her frustration regarding the schedule after helping Kazakhstan cement a spot in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals with a win over Australia.

"I know that the schedule overall is very packed, and it's not easy to even schedule Billie Jean King Cup. But ideally, if we go to one part of the world, it will be nicer to play the same part. Now, for example, the clay court [season] starts and [some have] already played even tournaments on clay. So to come back and play hard, it's a bit tricky. And ideally, if there is a tournament, it’s better to schedule it closer to where we want to be," Rybakina said.