© Getty Images Sport – Minas Panagiotakis
Elena Rybakina has withdrawn from Tokyo after criticizing the tournament and the WTA over being left out of the top-4 seeding. Although Maria Sakkari and Caroline Garcia are both ranked below Rybakina, they earned a top-4 seeding ahead of the Kazakh due to the WTA’s trialing of performance byes in Tokyo.
Instead of being a top-4 seed and having a first-round bye, Rybakina received the fifth-seeding and was drawn to face Linda Noskova in the Tokyo first round. After harshly calling out the WTA, Rybakina decided to withdraw from the tournament.
“I’m really sorry to have to withdraw from Tokyo this year. I was really looking forward to playing the event and I love the city. I have to prioritize my health and fitness and need time to get to 100 percent health,” Rybakina said in a statement.
Elena Rybakina’s official statement. 🚨👇
“I’m really sorry to have to withdraw from Tokyo this year. I was really looking forward to playing the event and I love the city. I have to prioritise my health and fitness and need time to get to 100 per cent health.”
(via Toray PPO) pic.twitter.com/3xBUlpzKcb — Relevant Tennis (@RelevantTennis) September 25, 2023
