Elena Rybakina has confirmed she will compete at the US Open, despite struggling with a painful heel injury that forced her to limp out of her Cincinnati Open quarter-final against Iga Swiatek last week.
The Australian Open champion insisted she is “all good” ahead of her opening match at Flushing Meadows, where success could see her overtake Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the world rankings.
Practice return and recovery
Rybakina picked up the heel injury in the United States and admitted it was so painful that walking was difficult for several days. However, she has been practising since arriving in New York.
“I started to practice, so I feel well,” the Kazakh said in her Saturday press conference. “We're still making some adjustments, but overall I'm happy how we dealt with the problem.
“We worked hard and likely it's all good right now and it's just a matter of a couple more practices and then, yeah, going on the match.”
Rankings and mindset
Rybakina will become world No. 1 if she reaches the semi-final. She begins her campaign against home favourite Thea Frodin, but the 27-year-old is not focusing on the bigger picture.
“From media mostly I know where I should get, how the others should play, all the different scenarios,” she added. “But for me, especially now when I had this injury last week, I feel like the most important (is) just try to stay healthy, play match at a time.
“I'm trying not to think about it at all and just play match at a time.”
Medical consultations
Rybakina visited several doctors to discuss her heel while taking time off the court. She explained that the injury was particularly painful when serving during her match in Cincinnati.
“It wasn't easy because we didn't know exactly how the foot is gonna react, since it was very painful for me to go and serve on that match in Cincinnati, then for a couple of days it was painful to even walk,” she said.
“After, we managed to do everything possible for it to get better, and I'm glad how the process is going for now. 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. So all these things I feel quite confident.”
