Due to a gastrointestinal illness, defending champion Elena Rybakina withdrew from the ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters on Friday, hours before her opening match. Kazakhstan’s former Wimbledon champion, seeded fourth, was scheduled to face Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska in the second round. She was replaced in the draw by Kayla Day.
In a statement, Rybakina stated, “It is with great sadness I must announce, I will not be able to participate at this year’s Indian Wells tournament due to gastrointestinal issues.”
She added, “Those close to me know how much this tournament means to me and how much I wanted to come back and defend my title. I would like to thank all the fans who came out here to support me and I am sorry they will not get a chance to see me play this year. Now I will rest and recover so I can come out and play and compete for my fans to the best of my abilities once again.”
After defeating Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s final, Rybakina has already won two championships this season after winning in Brisbane and Abu Dhabi. However, she cancelled her scheduled quarter-final match in Dubai last month also citing gastrointestinal trouble.
