NEW YORK — Elena Rybakina retired from her Cincinnati Open quarterfinal against Iga Świątek on Aug. 20 with a left ankle injury, trailing 1-4 in the opening set. Twenty-three days later she won the US Open.
Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in Saturday’s final at Arthur Ashe Stadium to win her first U.S. Open title and clinch the world No. 1 ranking. Speaking at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center afterward, she was asked about the week she spent without a racket.
“It wasn’t the best time for sure, because I was so upset. And I didn’t know actually how it’s going to be day by day,” Rybakina said. “We arrived to New York, we did MRI. It didn’t look that great. We had to talk with a lot of doctors to get the opinion what we should do.”
Elena Rybakina On The Doctors And The Recovery Plan
Rybakina said one doctor worked with her team remotely.
“I was lucky enough to have a very good doctor. She’s in Australia. She was on the phone with us all the time,” Rybakina said. “And somehow with the team, we made a plan and were sticking to it every day, discussing what we can do.”
The plan kept her off the court for the first week.
“First seven days, I was just going from my hotel room to the gym, three hours there, spending a lot of recovery treatments,” Rybakina said. “And yeah, a couple dinners to also a little bit switch the mind. And the first day, I think, when we arrived, to the cinema. And yeah, after that, I just continued to work, but unfortunately not on the court.”
Rybakina On The Cincinnati Retirement
Rybakina said in Cincinnati that the ankle had bothered her over a long stretch and had been under control until she played consecutive weeks in Canada and Ohio. Four of her Toronto matches went three sets, and she spent close to 11 and a half hours on court there before Świątek beat her in the final.
The retirement also ended her push for the No. 1 ranking that month. Rybakina needed the Cincinnati final to pass Sabalenka, whose fourth-round loss to Sara Bejlek had opened the window. She reached No. 1 instead on Wednesday in New York, with a quarterfinal win over Zheng Qinwen. Two days later she came back to beat Coco Gauff in three sets for a place in the final.
Rybakina was asked whether this was the hardest of her three majors to win.
“I feel like they’re all very difficult, but in different ways,” Rybakina said. “And definitely I was nervous the same as other slam finals. And you don’t sleep so well, you don’t eat that well.”
Rybakina added that the ranking race and the ankle stacked on top of that.
“I feel like this tournament was just kind of more stressful because I was playing for number one, one of the matches, and then of course this injury which happened the week before,” Rybakina said. “So every day was kind of a challenge, but I felt like in these situations, I was more calm than when similar things were happening before.”
Rybakina On Closing Out The Match
Rybakina hit 12 aces in the final to Sabalenka’s 6, and 36 winners to Sabalenka’s 32. She closed with an ace on championship point. Sabalenka, who called Rybakina the better player afterward, made 35 unforced errors.
A reporter asked about that last service game, which included two double faults and two aces.
“Of course it was pressure, it was nerves, it was difficult to keep the focus,” Rybakina said. “And I feel like in the first serve I actually wasn’t going that big, but then in the second, I think it was coming pure out of emotions. And you know that on the other side is a great player and she can go for her shots, and that I actually need to win it myself.”
Asked about 2027, Rybakina said scheduling comes first.
“The main priority, as I was saying before, I’m not getting younger, is try to keep myself healthy and definitely choose the calendar correctly, the training process,” Rybakina said. “And of course the goal is always the biggest tournaments, you want to win them, so the Grand Slams.”
The new WTA rankings publish Monday, Sept. 14.
