Elena Rybakina almost passes out and forced to retire after four games | Tennis | Sport

Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, was forced to retire after just four matches into her Berlin Open clash with Victoria Azarenka and was visibly unwell, close to passing out on the court.

The Kazakhstan star had been broken early in their quarter-final and concerningly halted proceedings, with Azarenka advancing, adding further doubt over her participation at SW19 next month.

A healthy and fully fit Rybakina would be one of the summer Grand Slam’s favourites, but after also pulling out of competitions at Indian Wells and Rome this year, she is becoming a doubt to feature at all.

Having double-faulted in the fifth match of her first set against Azarenka, Rybakina let out a big breath and bent over in distress, before holding her head and walking over to the sidelines.

She was described by Sky Sports commentator Barry Cowan as “not in a good state” and needed to sit down, taking a break during the fifth match which was tied 15-15, before the umpire informed the Berlin crowd that Rybakina could not continue due to illness.

After Rybakina’s 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 loss to Jasmine Paolini at the French Open, she revealed that health issues have caused her to struggle physically during matches recently.

“I think in the end my legs were not there,” the world No 4 explained. “No matter which conditions, if it’s slow or fast, I should have been moving better…. So I’m not really happy with the performance, but it is what it is. It’s tennis. Not every day you can play good.

“As I was saying, I was struggling a little bit with the health issues (in the) past few weeks — I think it’s just all together. But in the end no matter all these things, which were maybe happening outside of the court, I managed to get to the quarters. I think it’s (a) pretty good result.”

She has repeatedly lamented the jam-packed schedule as a reason for her lingering health issues. “Well, I’m not going to go deep in this topic for sure, but I’ve been working a lot and I think there is a lot of ups and downs,” Rybakina added in Paris.

“It’s always different, but as I always say, the schedule is not easy. At the end of the day, everybody is trying to manage as best as possible. I think I’ve played a lot. As I said, if the body is on the limit, I can’t go on the court. If I’m not 100 per cent ready, then it’s a risk to even get bigger injuries or something.

“For now it’s been health (problems) with allergies (and) sleeping — so it’s a little bit different from maybe last year when I had back problems. I heal. It’s always ups and downs. It’s tennis, so we (are) just trying to find the best possible way for me to prepare and be ready for big events like Grand Slams and 1000 events.”

But with less than two weeks until the start of Wimbledon, Rybakina will be wary of her ability to perform at her highest level in the hope of sealing a second title in three years.