No Rybakina showdown: Belinda Bencic pulls out of Roland Garros

Belinda Bencic has withdrawn from the Roland Garros tournament just one week before its start, where she was slated to face Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina. The Tokyo 2021 Olympic gold medalist announced on social media that she would not be competing due to a reaggravation of her arm injury, which had forced her to retire from the Rome Open.

Since her return to the courts following motherhood, the Swiss player has shown consistent form with wins against strong opponents and several deep runs – even clinching a WTA 500 title at the Abu Dhabi Open. Bencic, however, was forced to retire mid-match during her first-round duel in Rome two weeks ago, after losing the first set to Maria Sakkari 2-6.

"Hi everyone – a quick update here from me as I will, unfortunately, miss Roland Garros this year," she wrote on her Instagram stories. "Just two days ago during a morning practice, I reaggravated the arm injury that caused me to retire in Rome," she added.

"The very good news is that with two weeks of complete rest, I will be able to recover and heal fully; so I will do everything I can in that period to speed up the process and therefore see you soon on the grass."

Bencic has made notable progress in the rankings in recent months, climbing from outside the top 1000 to world No. 39 with just a handful of tournaments. However, she had not secured a seeded position, leading to a tough draw against world No. 12 Elena Rybakina, which would have been one of the blockbuster matches of the first round. The Swiss does not defend points for the remainder of the season, so her absence from the year's second Grand Slam will not significantly impact her ranking.