Elena Rybakina’s US Open status was cast into doubt after she suffered an injury at the Cincinnati Open.
Rybakina was forced to withdraw midway through her quarter-final match against Iga Swiatek after picking up a left ankle injury.
“Of course now I feel not the greatest, I couldn’t even push from the serve,” Rybakina said after the last-eight contest in Ohio.
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The world number two provided tennis fans with an injury update last week, stating that she was doing ‘everything possible’ to recover ahead of the US Open.
Rybakina has now issued another update on the eve of the US Open.
Elena Rybakina’s latest injury update
“Now I start to practice, so I feel… well, we are still making some adjustments, but overall, I’m happy how we dealt with the problem,” Rybakina told reporters in New York during her US Open pre-tournament press conference.
“Yeah, we worked hard, and, likely it’s all good right now, and, it’s just a matter of a couple more practises, and then, yeah, going on the match.
“I’ve been seeing the doctors, have been doing the recovery, and, yeah, slowly started to go on the court.
Just a lot of gym, and it wasn’t easy, because we didn’t know exactly how the foot is going to react, since it was very painful for me on court as well on that match in Cincinnati, because I wanted to try once more, and then for a couple of days, it was painful to even walk.
“Yeah, after we managed to do everything possible for it to get better, and I’m glad how the process is going for now.
| Year | Titles | Tournaments |
| 2026 | 1 | Australian Open |
| 2025 | 3 | WTA Finals, Ningbo, Strasbourg |
| 2024 | 3 | Brisbane, Abu Dhabi, Stuttgart |
| 2023 | 2 | Indian Wells, Rome |
| 2022 | 1 | Wimbledon |
| 2020 | 1 | Hobart |
| 2019 | 1 | Bucharest |
“Well, I didn’t know how it’s gonna go, to be honest, and since in the moment it happened, it was very painful, and as I said, I couldn’t even walk for the next few days without pain, so, of course, I was already upset, and no one knew how it’s gonna go, so we were just waiting day by day.
“Being here today in this situation, it’s really an amazing improvement, and no one expected, so we’ll see what’s gonna happen in the next few days.
“For now, it’s been well, and as I said, uh, I always want to go on court when I’m 100% sure, and it’s the last Grand Slam of the year, so I think everyone would want to try to compete.”
Rybakina will begin her US Open campaign against American Thea Frodin.
Frodin, the 17-year-old world number 580, received a wildcard for this year’s event.
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The American youngster is one of nine teenagers competing in the US Open singles draws.
Frodin recently won the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships in singles, beating Janae Preston, 6-1, 6-0 in the final.
The winner of Rybakina and Frodin will play Darja Vidmanova or Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the second round.
Elena Rybakina’s projected path to the US Open title
- R1: Thea Frodin
- R2: Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
- R3: Maria Sakkari
- R4: Naomi Osaka
- QF: Iga Swiatek
- SF: Coco Gauff
- F: Aryna Sabalenka
Elena Rybakina’s 2025 US Open campaign
Rybakina achieved her best US Open result to date at last year’s tournament.
The Kazakhstani star reached the fourth round after beating Julieta Pareja, Tereza Valentova, and Emma Raducanu.
Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon Ladies Singles champion, defeated Rybakina 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the round of 16.
Vondrousova was due to play Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals, but withdrew due to injury.
Aryna Sabalenka went on to lift her second US Open title, beating Amanda Anisimova in the final.
If Rybakina triumphs at this year’s US Open, she will go one step closer to completing the Career Grand Slam – winning all four Grand Slam singles titles.
Only 10 women have completed the feat: Maureen Connolly, Doria Hart, Shirley Fry, Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova.
