'A little bit getting tired of my issues': Elena Rybakina sees progress after injury struggles

Elena Rybakina referred to her recent injury problems, which have prevented her from competing regularly, after reaching the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open. The Kazakhstani player continues to fight to return to the top 10 as she takes another step forward after a few irregular months.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion had a couple of months away from her usual results. From March to mid-May, she had several early exits in tournaments, with only four victories combined in the four WTA 1000 events she played during that time, on both hardcourts (Indian Wells, Miami) and clay-courts (Madrid, Rome).

However, she began to recover with a victory in Strasbourg, her ninth WTA professional title. Since then, the Kazakhstani has a record of 17 wins and 5 losses, though with painful early exits at the French Open (Round of 16) and Wimbledon (Round of 32).

Last week she reached the semifinals of the DC Open but fell to an impressive Leylah Fernandez in three tight sets, even wasting match points in her favor.

Rybakina's tough win and return to form

Rybakina has been in great form so far this tournament. She secured straight-set victories against Hailey Baptiste and Jaqueline Cristian before overcoming a set deficit against the 30th seed, Dayana Yastremska. The world No. 12 took two hours and 33 minutes to prevail in a match where she won up to 73% of her service points but also had nine double faults and conceded three breaks.

She faced a complicated opponent in the Ukrainian world No. 35 but managed to recover from an adverse first set and sealed a tight victory with a score of 5-7, 6-2, 7-5, guaranteeing her a spot in the Round of 16.

"Well, I think that the site is really nice and also the fans are always nice, so I'm really happy to be here again," the Kazakhstani player, who is looking to return to the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 for the third time this season, commented. "Overall I think it's fast courts with the slider balls, so it's very good for my serve, especially when it's going. Yeah, I'm just looking forward for my next match and hopefully can recover well."

Match Statistics Rybakina vs. Yastremska

Physical issues and upcoming rivalry

Rybakina has lost some of her prominence in the last year due to a back injury that she first experienced at the beginning of the year. Rybakina had already missed a good portion of the tournaments in the second half of 2024 due to abdominal problems and amidst the controversy surrounding her coach, Stefano Vukov, who was banned by the WTA due to alleged mistreatment of the player.

In her semifinal match against Fernandez, Rybakina appeared somewhat exhausted in the final part of the three-hour battle, which likely contributed to the Canadian ultimately securing the victory.

After reaching the quarterfinals in Montreal, Rybakina said she was satisfied to be feeling physically better this time around as she hopes to definitively put her physical issues behind her. "Well, of course, a little bit getting tired of my issues, but we're managing. Overall I'm happy that I'm ready to play these long matches. I think it's a good preparation for the US Open in the end of the day. It's only going (indiscernible) for me."

Rybakina sets up quarterfinal showdown with Kostyuk

The Kazakhstani will seek to reach the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 for the first time since the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where she was eliminated in the semifinals by the eventual champion, Mirra Andreeva. The former world No. 3 is looking for her 15th appearance in a WTA 1000 quarterfinal against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, a rival she knows well from previous encounters.

"We played a couple of times. So different surface, but it's always a tough battle... I will try to focus on myself. I know that she's a really fighter, and she's a really physically tough opponent. So yeah, I will try to do my best and hopefully can win that match."

In three previous encounters, Rybakina has won twice. The most recent was in the final of the 2024 Stuttgart Open on clay courts. Their previous matches were on hardcourts, with a victory for Kostyuk at the 2023 Adelaide International and Rybakina taking revenge at the US Open of the same year.