Elena Rybakina, Reigning Wimbledon Champion, Pulls Out of French Open Due to Sickness

Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 1, 2023 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during her second round match against Czech Republic's Linda Noskova. (Reuters)
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 1, 2023 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during her second round match against Czech Republic's Linda Noskova. (Reuters)
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Elena Rybakina, Reigning Wimbledon Champion, Pulls Out of French Open Due to Sickness

Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 1, 2023 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during her second round match against Czech Republic's Linda Noskova. (Reuters)
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 1, 2023 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during her second round match against Czech Republic's Linda Noskova. (Reuters)

Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina pulled out of the French Open before her third-round match on Saturday because she is sick.

“I just wanted to give 100%, and obviously I’m far from being 100%,” Rybakina said. “If I cannot breathe, there is no chance I can even run and try to compete.”

The No. 4-seeded Rybakina was supposed to face 132nd-ranked Sara Sorribes Tormo in the day's opening contest on Court Philippe Chatrier.

They were scheduled to begin playing at 11:45 a.m. local time, but instead, at that very moment, Rybakina sat down behind the microphone at a news conference to explain why she was withdrawing from the year's second Grand Slam tournament.

Sounding stuffed up, Rybakina explained that she has been running a fever, didn't sleep well the past two nights and had difficulty breathing during a warmup session Saturday ahead of her match. She said a doctor told her there is a virus going around “here in Paris.”

Rybakina, who won each of her first two matches this week in straight sets, was considered among the top contenders for the championship at Roland Garros. She has won her past 10 matches, including a tuneup title on red clay at the Italian Open last month.

She plays a power-built game based in part on one of the best serves on the WTA Tour, which she leads in aces this season.

Last July, Rybakina won her first major trophy, defeating Ons Jabeur in the final at Wimbledon.

Rybakina is a 23-year-old who was born in Moscow and has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, when that country offered her funding to support her tennis career. The switch was a topic of conversation during Wimbledon, because the All England Club barred athletes who represent Russia or Belarus from entering the tournament in 2022 due to the war in Ukraine.

The walkover allows the 26-year-old Sorribes Tormo to advance to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career.



Defeated Villa Eager to Go Again in Champions League 

Aston Villa's head coach Unai Emery reacts during the Champions League quarter-final second leg soccer match between Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain at Villa Park stadium, Birmingham, England, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP)
Aston Villa's head coach Unai Emery reacts during the Champions League quarter-final second leg soccer match between Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain at Villa Park stadium, Birmingham, England, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP)
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Defeated Villa Eager to Go Again in Champions League 

Aston Villa's head coach Unai Emery reacts during the Champions League quarter-final second leg soccer match between Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain at Villa Park stadium, Birmingham, England, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP)
Aston Villa's head coach Unai Emery reacts during the Champions League quarter-final second leg soccer match between Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain at Villa Park stadium, Birmingham, England, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP)

Narrowly defeated by Paris St Germain at the Champions League quarter-final stage, Aston Villa are now focused on getting straight back next year into Europe's top club competition.

"I am very proud of everything we did in the Champions League," Villa boss Unai Emery said as the dust settled from a pulsating clash with PSG whom they beat 3-2 in Tuesday's second leg but lost 3-1 to in the first game for an overall 5-4 defeat.

Villa are seventh in the Premier League but only a point off fifth which would secure them a Champions League berth again.

"It is now most important to get Europe again. The most important competition is the Champions League. The challenge we have for the last six matches (of the Premier League) is to try and get Europe and the Champions League," Emery said.

His pride at Villa's strong showing, after a four-decade absence from Europe's elite, was tinged with frustration at just failing to pull off a remarkable comeback as they came so close to scoring a fourth goal at Villa Park that would have levelled the tie on aggregate.

"We were close," he said, adding that he had to push his team on to achieve ever more. "Still a little bit more to do better, to try to get it."

Aston Villa captain John McGinn, who scored on Tuesday, echoed the sentiment.

"Obvious disappointment but I am proud of my teammates, proud of the club. We have come a long way. We were so, so close tonight. We just fell a little bit short," he said.

"We had chances to take the game to extra time but we've got to be proud about the way we came back against one of the best teams in the world, to fight to the end. We want more. We want to be back here next season and we will try our best to do that."

McGinn said the players gave their all against a superb opponent. "We never gave up. It was chaos, but we gave absolutely everything and I think every Aston Villa supporter will leave with a huge sense of pride," he said.

"I've never played against Real Madrid or Barcelona, but in my career they (PSG) are the best team I have faced. I'm getting old and I certainly wouldn't like to play against them every week."