Elena Rybakina had to withdraw from her third round tie at the 2023 French Open in which she was due to face Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Rybakina has been playing superbly for some time so it is a big blow for the tournament with the Wimbledon champion forming part of a so called Big Three with Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka.
But some fears have been put to bed with Rybakina not injured and it is due to illness which has seen her not 100% to play.
This despite being seen practicing this morning which likely prompted the decision.
She spoke to the media on her withdrawal in a press conference with Holger Rune instead today opening up Phillippe Chatrier.
"I saw the doctor and he said there is a lot of virus here in Paris. I guess with my allergy, my immune system went down and I picked up something," said Rybakina.
"I wasn't sleeping well (for) two days, I had a fever, headache. I think you can hear it also. It's difficult to perform and obviously to run and even breathe so I think that it was the right decision we could make."
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Elena Rybakina on withdrawal from Roland Garros:
“I had a fever, headache, I think you can hear it also…”
She sounds really ill. Her voice is raspy & it sounds like she’s been coughing all night. I’m surprised she even went to the press conference ❤️🩹