Elena Rybakina’s French Open hopes came crashing down as the World No. 2 suffered an unexpected second-round defeat at the tournament. Rybakina was chasing her third Grand Slam title at the tournament and also had a chance at bagging the World No. 1 ranking.
After her defeat, the Kazakh assessed her performance in the press conference but didn’t take kindly to a question about her coach Stefano Vukov’s mid-match disappearance.
Elena Rybakina Slams Reporter in French Open Press Conference
Rybakina, one of the favorites to win the title in Paris, suffered a brutal defeat to Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva in the second round on Wednesday, May 27. The match went the distance, and Starodubtseva came out on top in the deciding tiebreak with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-6(4) score.
During the match, Rybakina received important instructions from her team, which includes coach Stefano Vukov, physiotherapist Stefan Duell, and her strength and conditioning coach Aldo Chiari. Vukov, however, appeared to leave the box mid-match, prompting a reporter to quiz her about his whereabouts during the post-match press conference.
Elena Rybakina didn’t appreciate the question. “Why am I not surprised these questions are coming from you,” she said.
The reigning Australian Open champion then clarified that her coach was feeling under the weather. “Yes, he was at the match. He left because he was feeling really bad the past few days. So he told me, ‘I might leave. I tried to stay.’ But he was not feeling great. It was not a surprise; we talked about it. Nothing from that side.”
Elaborating on the words of advice she received from the rest of the team, Rybakina said, “They were just trying to tell me to raise my energy. Try to push more with the legs since the ball is flying so much.”
The player noted that she wasn’t able to handle the weather as well as her opponent, as the hot conditions impacted her aggressive style of play. “Even on simple balls which you feel are coming not so fast, the ball bounces so high that you need to really force the wrist. You need to play with fast hands. Today it was not enough from my side. Even when I wasn’t really attacking the ball, I was trying to keep it in play. I had too many mistakes.”
Rybakina now risks losing the World No. 2 ranking as World No. 3 Iga Świątek chases her fifth French Open title. Yuliia Starodubtseva, meanwhile, faces Wang Xiyu for a place in the fourth round.
