Elena Rybakina, WTA world No. 2, recently decided to retire from the Dubai Open due to a stomach illness, likely caused by physical exhaustion.
The Kazakh player has been on a splendid run of form on the tour this season. Ryabinka has already bagged two WTA titles, the first one coming at The Brisbane International in January and a second in Abu Dhabi a couple of weeks before. However, competing at the highest level does take a toll on the player’s body.
The Kazakh World No. 4 seems to be struggling with the same. On Thursday, she announced her retirement from the Dubai Open tournament. She had already passed the RO16 challenge and was scheduled to take on Jasmine Paolini in the quarters. The issue for her early exit from the competition is said to be gastrointestinal illness.
Even though the exhaustion and physical breakdown is understandable, some fans trolled Rybakina for having low immunity. Several unwanted comments were made about her regarding this incident. One fan wrote:
“This b*tch has the immune system of a frail Victorian chimney sweep,” the troll tweeted, sharing the news of Elena’s retirement decision.
Some others also took a dig at her physical endurance and cited similar incidents from the past seasons where her body couldn’t hold up.
Didn't this same shıt happen at RG last year?
— CornPop🎾 (@CornpopFTW) February 23, 2024
her white blood cells give even less of a fuck than she already does 😭
— milquetoast (@milquetoast_jj) February 22, 2024
can someone schedule her a immune system transplant?
— atpwtathottie (@rykhiaxox) February 22, 2024
She has a long way to go to beat Tsurenko in the immune rankings,but there do seem to be issues with Elena,although I think fatigue may be an issue.
— Richard Gordon#KBF😀🌸💮🌺🌼 (@GordonRwhgordon) February 23, 2024
im pretty sure she's fine she's just tired babe
— Rachel | #19InIW (@rafacharliga) February 23, 2024
“It’s getting tougher and tougher physically,” Elena Rybakina gave hints of the exit before the match
Prior to the quarter-final, Elena Rybakina had given hints of the physical toll her body had taken. Although she was optimistic about making it to the next round, her body just didn’t allow her.
Before announcing her exit, Elena Rybakina defeated challenger Magdalena Frech 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-4 in the third round. In the post-match interview, she hinted about her illness, adding that she has seen a dip in her performance and wasn’t sure if half a day of recovery was going to be enough for her.
“I’m happy that I’m still winning the matches, But I can see by the level that of course, physically and everything it’s dropping a bit. Most important is to stay healthy. With every match, it’s getting tougher and tougher physically,” she said.
“I don’t know how much I can push and how much I can recover in this half day,” the World No. 4 added.
