08/20/26 08:04:00
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08/20 20:02 CDT Elena Rybakina stops playing during first set of quarterfinal
vs. Iga Swiatek at Cincinnati
Elena Rybakina stops playing during first set of quarterfinal vs. Iga Swiatek
at Cincinnati
By JEFF WALLNER
Associated Press
MASON, Ohio (AP) --- Elena Rybakina stopped playing during the first set of her
quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday night.
With the No. 2-ranked Rybakina serving at 1-4, 40-40, she took a medical
timeout to have trainers address her left ankle area and retired from the match
moments later.
"Of course I feel not the greatest," Rybakina said. "It's painful to walk.
We'll know more tomorrow when we have the MRI. It's been bothering me for a
long period of time but felt like I had it under control."
After aggravating the injury during the second set on Thursday, she spent
several minutes speaking with trainers before returning to the court. She
decided to call it quits after she was unable to put full weight on her leg
while attempting a serve.
"It was feeling OK before (Thursday's) match," Rybakina said. "Unfortunately
one wrong movement and something happened."
With top seed Aryna Sabalenka losing Thursday night to Sara Bejlik, the
27-year-old Rybakina could have risen to No. 1 in the rankings by reaching the
final.
Swiatek, the defending champion, will face American Jessica Pegula in the
semifinals. She has reached at least the semifinals in each of her last four
appearances in Cincinnati. Swiatek beat Rybakina in the semifinals in
Cincinnati last year.
"Not the way you want the match to end," Swiatek said. "She didn't look good,
obviously. Then she wanted treatment and I wasn't sure if she was going to be
back or not. She's walking normally now. I felt really sorry for her but
hopefully it's nothing serious and she's going to be ready for the U.S. Open."
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