Rybakina Clarifies Tokyo Withdrawal Following “Protest” Rumors.

the top in the world.
The fifth-ranked Elena Rybakina confirmed that she withdrew from the Japan Open late because she was listening to her body, most likely citing a minor injury.

The news obviously comes shortly after Rybakina criticized the WTA for denying her a bye in the opening round of the WTA 500 tournament in Tokyo.
The top four seeds receive a free pass into the second round as is customary, and their campaigns begin at least two days after the first matches.

That didn’t happen because the WTA chose to test performance byes, which Caroline Garcia and Maria Sakkari received despite being seeded fourth and fifth, respectively.
These were intended to allow the two competitors from the Guadalajara Open last week enough time to recover and travel to Tokyo.

It happened at Rybakina’s expense because she was the tournament’s third seed up until her withdrawal, which some believed to be a protest but was later proven to be untrue. The Kazakh was unable to hold back her displeasure as she criticized the WTA for enforcing the rules at the last minute.

After the Bye Snub Scandal, Elena Rybakina withdraws from the Japan Open.

Nicole Melichar-Martinez, an American doubles player who is competing in the doubles draw in Tokyo, refuted Rybakina’s claims, saying that none of the rules had changed and that the details were contained in the fact sheet.

On Monday, when Rybakina was supposed to portray Linda Noskova, she canceled her appearance at the event.
Given that she explained in her Instagram stories that she was listening to her body and had to make a difficult decision, it may indicate that she needed a few extra days to recover.

She also stated that she would address the controversial subject of her bye-bye snub in the future, but she did not specify when.
In her final words, Rybakina expressed her gratitude to her supporters.

“As a player, I want to give everything I have on the court, but right now, my body isn’t prepared to do that.
I made the decision to leave the competition because I wanted to listen to my body.
This is a challenging choice because I love Japan and my fans there are so distinctive.
“.

“The WTA issue is another one about which I have opinions and will speak up in the future.
I want to thank all of my supporters for their encouragement.
“.