Swiatek reaches Cincinnati semifinals as Rybakina succumbs to left ankle injury
Elena Rybakina's stay at the Cincinnati Open -- and current quest to dethrone Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the PIF WTA Rankings --- ended on Thursday night when she was forced to retire from her quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek with a left ankle injury.
Swiatek was leading 4-1 with Rybakina serving at 40-15 when things first appeared to go wrong. Rybakina couldn't finish off a rally at the net, and when Swiatek put a tough passing shot at her feet, the Kazakh missed the follow-up half volley and put her hands to her knees. She struggled to push off on her first serve on the next point, which lasted just three shots, and after a mid-game medical evaluation, Rybakina elected to end the match moments later.
After Sabalenka lost to Sara Bejlek in the fourth round on Wednesday, Rybakina needed to reach the final in Cincinnati to take the World No. 1 ranking. Instead, Sabalenka will retain the top spot going into the US Open next week, and Swiatek, the Toronto champion, will face Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.
"Honestly, I felt a bit like scared because I don't know if I see a player having an injury like that," Swiatek said afterwards. "I wasn't sure because she didn't look good obviously. But then she wanted a treatment, so I wasn't sure if she's going to be back or not. So I wanted to be really focused on just being ready because breaks like that can really throw you off of your rhythm and the momentum. But then I felt really sorry for her, but hopefully it's nothing serious."
“I was feeling anxious just looking at this situation," she added. "I hope Elena will be fine. The next tournament is the priority. I know this one is important as well. But US Open is US Open. I hope she’s gonna be ready for that. She’s super close to being No. 1 in the world. It’s a shame. I thought we were playing a good match. But health is a priority. I hope she’s gonna be OK.”
Rybakina later said that the issue was "bothering [her] for a long period of time," but she felt it was under control until the recent Hard-Court Swing.
"The match against [Magdalena] Frech [in the third round], stopping with the rain delays, I started to feel it more, and I took a day off completely after," she said. "It was feeling OK before the match but unfortunately one wrong movement, one landing, and something happened.”
Admitting that it was even painful to walk after the match, she said she hoped to learn more about the problem in the coming days.
Swiatek is bidding to become just the second woman since 2004 to successfully defending a Cincinnati title, after Serena Williams in 2014-15. She will take a 7-5 head-to-head record into her semifinal with Pegula, but the American has won four of their hard-court matches.
"Jessie looks different than me on the court, but she has a great feeling and great ability to predict where the opponents are going to play," Swiatek said. "So the ball is really hard coming from her racquet and tricky. For sure, it's going to be a challenge.
"American players also are more pumped to play in American tournaments, so I'll be ready for her best version. We played many tough matches against each other, and for sure she likes also playing here, so I'll be ready."
