“I question her scheduling. Why, why, why play Tokyo?" - A puzzled Rennae Stubbs laments Elena Rybakina's preparations for botched WTA Finals quest

Elena Rybakina headed to Indian Wells as the reigning WTA Finals champion and the favourite from many tennis fans' perspectives. However, her withdrawal at the 11th hour has sparked questions by Rennae Stubbs, who was perplexed by the World No.1's schedule choices.

Unlike last year, Rybakina had the luxury of sitting back and not being stressed about qualifying for the showpiece event. She was one of the first to confirm a return, but that did not stop her from playing out a busy Asian swing.

After skipping the Wuhan Open following a humiliating opening match as the World No.1, Rybakina put things right with a satisfactory title defence in Ningbo. She then made the trip from China to the Japanese capital to compete at the Pan Pacific Open.

It was an interesting decision with her the only player to have qualified for the WTA Finals still competing in Asia, with all the others having hung their racket up for the time being ahead of a return to California.

Rybakina would withdraw from the tournament in similar circumstances to the year before and travel halfway around the globe to Indian Wells.

She was reported to have a viral illness, and footage emerged of her not feeling great during an interview. The Kazakh made the tough decision to pull out of the tournament, opening the door for the other challengers to compete for the title with Marta Kostyuk stepping in as an alternate for her WTA Finals debut.

Rybakina released a statement confirming the news. “I am really sad to inform all my fans and supporters that I unfortunately have to withdraw from the WTA Finals this year. I’ve had an incredible season but my body is just not physically ready to compete. I’m going to spend some time resting and recovering at home and getting myself ready for the 2027 season.”

A former WTA Finals champion in doubles, Stubbs looked on at the Rybakina situation with a bit of confusion. The Aussie could not figure out why she competed at the Pan Pacific Open, putting forward a possible theory on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.

“I question her scheduling. Why, why, why play Tokyo?" she said. "Somebody said, ‘She is wearing head to toe Yonex,’ and that means you usually go and play a tournament in Japan because it was part of her contract. And I am sure it was part of her contract. She played a match and then pulled out. If you have any inkling of sickness or any body ache, I don’t understand why you play [in] Tokyo."

After winning the title in Ningbo in what was a busy week for the 27-year-old, the obvious route would be having a bit of time off ahead of the WTA Finals, arriving fit and replenished with some great momentum pushing her through. However, the three-time Grand Slam champion took a different path.

“You just won Ningbo, get out of there, go to California, get yourself ready to play outside and in hotter conditions," Stubbs continued. "I just don’t understand her scheduling. To me, it’s just wild some of the choices that she has.”

This withdrawal means that Rybakina has called an end to the 2026 season. It has been full of brilliant moments. Winning the Australian Open and US Open among four WTA titles while clambering to the top spot in the WTA rankings makes it a very special campaign that she will treasure forever, but the WTA Finals debacle would have been a frustrating turn of events, with 2027 another chance to kick on and continue her ominous form.