Elena Rybakina has been conspicuous by her absence since losing her Miami Open semifinal to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka. Slated to resume her campaign at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, the Kazakh set alarm bells ringing when she didn’t show up at the venue alongside other players like Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff, who began their prep days in advance.
Rybakina’s fans can now breathe a sigh of relief. The player has made a late arrival at the tournament. She was spotted practicing on Monday ahead of her campaign.
Elena Rybakina Quashes Withdrawal Rumors With Stuttgart Appearance
Rybakina enjoyed a memorable start to her 2026 season. After a quarterfinal run in Brisbane, she clinched her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Her Middle East campaign drew mixed results – a quarterfinal exit in Doha and a mid-match retirement in the third round in Dubai.
At Indian Wells, she narrowly lost the title to Aryna Sabalenka but subsequently reached her career-high ranking of World No. 2. The Belarusian repeated the result in the semifinal of the Miami Open, following which Rybakina went on a break to begin her clay-court preparations.
Fans, however, expressed concern about a potential withdrawal when players began arriving for the WTA 500 in Stuttgart, but the Kazakh was nowhere to be seen. She also pulled out of the tournament’s “One Point Challenge” event scheduled on Monday.
Despite her no-show, the official Porsche Tennis social media account assured that the player was expected to compete in the main event. “@paulabadosa and @elisvitolina will be joining the Porsche One Point Challenge! Unfortunately, Elena Rybakina can’t participate in tomorrow’s event, but we’re looking forward to seeing her next week on the Centre Court for her first match.”
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Rybakina has now arrived at the venue. She kicked off her first practice session at 11:00 a.m. local time on April 13.
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She also gave fans a peek at her private preparations on clay. “Last week prep,” she wrote on Instagram.
As the top seed, Rybakina has received a bye in the first round. She opens her campaign in the Round of 16 against the winner of Tamara Korpatsch vs. Diana Shnaider. The player has drawn two-time champion Świątek in her half, with a potential semifinal on the cards.
The Kazakh is chasing her second title at the tournament, having won her first Porsche Tennis Grand Prix trophy in 2024. During the week, she will look to close the gap with World No. 1 Sabalenka, who chose to skip the event this year, despite being the finalist in 2025. Rybakina is defending no points, courtesy of her absence last year.
