The 2023 French Open women’s singles tennis draw suffered a major blow on Saturday when No. 4 Elena Rybakina withdrew from the tournament.
Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon Champion and one of the favorites to win the tournament, is suffering from a viral illness.
She has been dealing with a fever, sleepless nights, and congestion.
“I just wanted to give 100%, and obviously I’m far from being 100%. If I cannot breathe, there is no chance I can even run and try to compete.”
She was told this was something circulating around Paris.
Sara Sorribes Tormo Advances
Because of the walkover, her scheduled opponent 26-year-old Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo advances to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career.
Sorribes Tormo is currently ranked 132nd in the world, but last February, she was 32nd.
Earlier in the tournament, she defeated Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.
Could This Be An Opportunity For Ons Jabeur?
Injuries have been an issue for her in recent months so she has not been talked about as much at this year’s Roland Garros.
She is in the same section of the draw as Rybakina and could have been on a collision course with Rybakina for a quarterfinal match.
The women’s seeds have fallen in this tournament to the point that there are only five Top 10 players remaining: Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur, and Daria Kasatkina.
It is also worth noting that the only prior Grand Slam champions in the draw are Swiatek, Sabalenka, and Sloane Stephens (2017 U.S. Open Champion) who is set to face Sabalenka on Sunday.
Big Match On Saturday For Coco Gauff
Speaking of Coco Gauff, she has a big third-round match coming up on Saturday.
She is playing qualifier and wonder kid 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva.
It is rare for the 20-year-old Gauff to be the veteran player in her matches.
Andreeva has handled the media and experience of her first Grand Slam main draw beautifully and seemingly feels no pressure.
Could she be the reason another Top 10 player is out of the tournament before the second week?
We will have to wait and see.
In the meantime, watch French Open action on Saturday morning on Tennis Channel before NBC Sports picks up the action at 12:00 PM EDT.
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