Rybakina on Halep's injury: "I wish Simona a speedy recovery"

Elena Rybakina advanced to the quarter-finals at the Wuhan Open, when her 3rd round opponent Simona Halep was forced to retire.

The players stayed on court for just 45 minutes. Rybakina was losing already 2-4, but then she got into the lead of 5-4, when Halep decided to end the match. After the match she spoke about her tactics and the way she felt.

"I started a little bit nervous," Rybakina admitted afterwards. "But I played good the last few games. I went on court with nothing to lose, to show my best game, to fight."

The Romanian spoke about her injury, as she was forced to withdraw from the Zhengzhou Open due to ankle injury before.

“It’s a lower back [injury],” Halep told journalists afterward. “I think it’s more muscle, but I don’t know yet because I didn’t check it properly. [At] 4-all, 0-30, with the backhand. I had a sharp pain.

“I don’t know yet [if it’s the same as the previous injury]. It looks a little bit different but it’s still the same zone.”

Rybakina was clearly disappointed, because of how the match ended. But she did not hide her feelings about advancing into the quarter-finals in Wuhan.

"Of course, I didn't want to win the match like this," said Rybakina. "The worst thing that can happen to an athlete is injuries - I wish Simona a speedy recovery and I'm just happy to be in the quarters." The youngster could still take a moment to appreciate her meteoric rise in 2019, though. "It's amazing," she recalled. "I started the year [around] World No.200 - the goal for the year was Top 100, then it was Top 50, and it's getting better and better."