Elena Rybakina has confirmed she will not defend her title at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, citing scheduling difficulties following her participation in the Billie Jean King Cup. The decision means the Kazakh player will forfeit 500 ranking points and fall out of the WTA Top 10.
The 2024 Stuttgart champion revealed the reason behind her absence, stating that traveling from Australia to Europe in a short span made it challenging to adjust, especially with little preparation on clay.
“I know that the schedule overall is very packed, and it’s not easy to even schedule Billie Jean King Cup,” she said. “Now, for example, the clay court [season] starts and [some have] already played even tournaments on clay. So to come back and play hard, it’s a bit tricky.”
Rybakina helped Kazakhstan top Group D in Brisbane during the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, securing wins over Australia and Colombia. She played both singles matches and contributed to her country’s qualification for the Finals, but the location and timing of the event left her with no realistic option to transition quickly onto clay.
“[It would be] nicer to play the same part of the world,” she added. “If there is a tournament, it’s better to schedule it closer to where we want to be.” The 25-year-old, who won Wimbledon in 2022, has not claimed a title since Stuttgart last year. Her run there included a semifinal win over Iga Swiatek and a final victory against Marta Kostyuk.
Rybakina to Drop Out of WTA Top 10
By skipping the Stuttgart event, Rybakina will lose 500 points, a significant drop in a tightly packed top-10 leaderboard. She had entered the tournament as the defending champion but will now fall outside the WTA top 10 by next week’s rankings update.
While Aryna Sabalenka tied Angelique Kerber’s mark of 34 consecutive weeks at World No. 1, Rybakina’s slide opens the door for others to move up as the clay season gets into full swing.