Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina has allayed fears over her
fitness ahead of the US Open, saying she is feeling better after recovering
from a foot injury that forced her to retire from her Cincinnati match against
Iga Swiatek.
Rybakina, speaking on Saturday, said she had returned
to practice and was encouraged by the progress made with her recovery.
“I started to practice, so I feel well,” the former
Wimbledon champion said. “We’re still making some adjustments, but overall I’m
happy with how we dealt with the problem.”
She added that she expected to need only a few more
practice sessions before returning to competitive action.
Rybakina’s fitness had become a major concern after
she was forced to leave her Cincinnati clash with Swiatek. She subsequently
stayed away from the court for a week and consulted several doctors about the
injury.
“It wasn’t easy because we didn’t know exactly how the
foot was going to react, since it was very painful for me to go and serve in
that match in Cincinnati,” she said.
The Kazakh revealed that the pain was initially so
severe that even walking was difficult for several days, but said her medical
team had done everything possible to accelerate her recovery.
“After, we managed to do everything possible for it to
get better, and I’m glad how the process is going for now,” she added.
Rybakina also has a major ranking incentive at the
final Grand Slam of the season. She can overtake Aryna Sabalenka and become
world number one if she reaches the US Open semi-finals, regardless of
Sabalenka’s performance in New York.
However, the 27-year-old insisted that she is not
allowing the ranking battle to distract her, particularly after her recent
injury scare.
“From media mostly I know where I should get, how the
others should play — all the different scenarios,” Rybakina said.
“But for me, especially now when I had this injury
last week, I feel like the most important thing is just to try to stay healthy
and play match at a time.”
She said she was determined to ignore the various
ranking scenarios and focus solely on her matches.
“I’m trying not to think about it at all and just play
match at a time,” she added.
Despite the recent setback, Rybakina said she remained
confident in the decisions being made by her team regarding her training and
recovery.
“I’m quite confident with the decision we are making
each day, how to practice, what to do, and especially what can happen
worst-case scenario,” she said.
The US Open gets underway with Rybakina hoping her
recovery continues smoothly as she targets a deep run in New York and a
potential rise to the top of the women’s world rankings.
Comments:
Leave a Reply