Rybakina not set for return to action at Qatar Open in Doha: "Schedule-wise it's not easy to travel so much"

Elena Rybakina won't be playing in Doha next week after she made a deep run in Abu Dhabi this week as she needs to play the qualifier to get into Doha.

Due to the way entry lists and rankings function, reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina would have had to play the qualifiers for Doha next week. She had no issues with that however after advancing to the quarter-finals of Abu Dhabi this week Rybakina pulled out due to conflicting schedules.

She made the announcement after her win over Pliskova yesterday:

"Unfortunately I’m not gonna go to Doha. I'm really looking forward to come back next year but this time I'm not going. Schedule-wise it's not easy to travel so much. I played really well in Melbourne so it's really better for me just to rest & prepare the next week."

The Doha event is shaping up to be a brutally good one with the draw on the level of a grand slam. Rybakina won't be there but there will be plenty of other players that will be competing there.