Elena Rybakina's path to the Montreal semifinals cleared after Marta Kostyuk retires with injury

Elena Rybakina advanced to the semifinals of the Canadian Open after Marta Kostyuk retired in the second set. The Kazakh player was having a notable performance in Montreal and was ahead 6-1, 2-1 when the Ukrainian player withdrew from the match due to a wrist injury.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion will play in a WTA 1000 semifinal for the second time this season (and the 10th time in her career), where she will face the winner between Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and the Canadian star Victoria Mboko. Rybakina continues to earn points and is one win away from returning to the top 10 after four months.

It was a more than interesting match between two players who know each other well. Rybakina had won three of their four previous matches, including the 2024 Stuttgart Open final. This time, Kostyuk came in with great confidence after victories against Marketa Vondrousova, Daria Kasatkina, and McCartney Kessler, all of which came after losing the first set.

Kostyuk's usual fighting spirit appeared again this time as she battled in the second set after, once again, starting the first set with a loss. However, this time she was unable to complete a comeback after wrist problems prevented her from finishing the match. Rybakina now leads their head-to-head 4-1 and will look to return to a WTA 1000 final.

The former world No. 3 has been impeccable this week, defeating Hailey Baptiste, Jaqueline Cristian, Dayana Yastremska, and this time overcoming Kostyuk after playing just a few games of the second set.

Aggressive Rybakina takes first set 6-1

The first set quickly began to lean in Rybakina’s favor when she secured a break early and then went up 2-0 with her serve. The Kazakh player especially took advantage of her opponent’s second serves, and in the third game, she already had another couple of opportunities to break and take a double break lead, although Kostyuk managed to survive to keep the distance short.

However, the Ukrainian couldn't do much against a Rybakina who was especially aggressive on the return. The former Wimbledon champion had break opportunities in every game and from there went on a streak of four consecutive games—converting two of the six opportunities she created in the following games—and took the first set 6-1. Not only was she efficient on the return, but she conceded only four points on her serve throughout the set. Rybakina won 75% of her service points and 58% on the return.

Wrist injury forces Kostyuk to retire

At the start of the second set, Kostyuk had a break opportunity for the first time against Rybakina, but the Kazakh player managed to save it. In the next game, Kostyuk's physical problems began to become evident, as she struggled to land her first serve. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian managed to hold her service game this time to keep the score tied.

In the third game, Rybakina comfortably took the lead, but Kostyuk saw that her physical problems would not allow her to compete and asked for a medical time-out to be treated. After a few minutes, the world No. 28 decided to end her participation in the Canadian Open, and Rybakina advanced to the semifinals with a score of 6-1, 2-1, putting her in an excellent position to fight for the title. She will face the winner of the unseeded match between Victoria Mboko and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.