"Maybe just pulling out of Eastbourne was what she needed": Robson doesn't see Rybakina illness diminishing Wimbledon chances

Former British player Laura Robson believes that world number three Elena Rybakina still has a great chance of defending her Wimbledon title.

The 24-year-old won her maiden Grand Slam in London last year after defeating Ons Jabeur in the final with a score of 3–6, 6–2, 6–2.

Rybakina recently withdrew from Eastbourne International with a viral illness but Robson believes there is no point in panicking, just yet.

“I think realistically, she still has a great chance, even if she's not 100% at the start of the tournament,” she said while speaking to Eurosport. “But we're still a week away, so there's plenty of time to get physically ready to get some more practice time in.

“And I would say that the first couple of rounds, if she can just get a good first strike in and try and dominate with the serve, she can beat a lot of players without being 100%.

“So, yeah, for me, I don't think there's any reason to panic. You want to be healthy when you start a tournament for sure. So maybe just pulling out of Eastbourne in the last couple of hours was what she needed to feel like she's going to be ready for next week.”

The Moscow-born is seeded third this year for the mega-event, behind only Poland’s Iga Swiatek and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka.