Elena Rybakina withdraws from Eastbourne due to viral illness ahead of Wimbledon title defence

Published 26/06/2023 at 12:51 GMT

Elena Rybakina is set to head to Wimbledon having played just two grass matches this season after withdrawing from the Eastbourne International due to a viral illness. The 2022 Wimbledon champion also pulled out of the French Open due to illness and has said she is "not 100 per cent physically". Rybakina lost in the second round in Berlin last week to Donna Vekic.

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Elena Rybakina’s Wimbledon preparations have suffered a setback after she withdrew from the Eastbourne International due to a viral illness.

The defending Wimbledon champion was the top seed at the tournament and was due to play Wang Xiyu on Monday.

However, she will not feature and will instead focus on recovering ahead of Wimbledon, which starts on July 3.

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Rybakina also withdrew ahead of her third-round match at the French Open in early June due to a viral illness.

She said in Eastbourne that she was still not 100 per cent physically due to the effects of the virus.

"At the French Open after I withdrew I went back to the hotel and it was even worse so I had to stay in Paris for a few days not leaving the room," she said.

"I started my preparation week after just slowly starting and it was tough since it was a virus.

"So I still think that I’m not 100 per cent physically where I want to be but slowly it’s getting better and hopefully I can get some more matches here and feel more comfortable at Wimbledon.”

Rybakina lost in the second round in Berlin last week to Donna Vekic.

She lifted her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon a year ago and made the Australian Open final earlier this year, losing to Aryna Sabalenka.

Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick said recently that Rybakina is the favourite to win Wimbledon and is the "best grass court player in the world".

Barbora Krejcikova is now the top seed in Eastbourne, while lucky loser Petra Martic replaces Rybakina and faces Katie Boulter on Tuesday.

Boulter will be the top-ranked British player at Wimbledon after winning in Nottingham this month.

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You can watch daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm on Eurosport 2 and discovery+ from July 3, as well as the two singles finals live on July 15 and 16.

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