“Quite confident with the decision” – Rybakina says she could not walk after Cincinnati and arrives fit for the US Open

Elena Rybakina spent the days after her Cincinnati withdrawal unable to walk without pain, missed a full week of practice and consulted several doctors, and the No. 2 seed will still start the US Open on schedule. The Kazakh confirmed her fitness at Flushing Meadows on Saturday, a day before the main draw begins, and described a foot problem far more serious than her absence had suggested.

“It was very painful for me to go and serve on that match in Cincinnati, because I wanted to try once more,” Rybakina said. “Then for couple of days, it was painful to even walk.”

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The recovery ran day by day with no guarantees. “I didn’t play for exact week, and we consulted with different doctors,” she said. “Slowly started to go on the court. Just a lot of gym. It wasn’t easy, because we didn’t know exactly how the foot is gonna react. Being here today in this situation, it’s really an amazing improvement.”

She reported no doubts about the plan and only one remaining task. “I don’t actually have any questions. I’m quite confident with the decision we are making each day how to practice, what to do, and especially what can happen worst-case scenario,” Rybakina said. “It’s just also to start feeling better on the court moving-wise, since I didn’t play for the whole week. I just feel like it’s just few more days and I should be very fine.”

The US Open, Rybakina’s weakest grand slam

The draw has been kind at the start. Rybakina opens against Thea Frodin, an American wild card making her Grand Slam main-draw debut, and she is 5-2 in the first round at the US Open and 25-3 in the opening round at majors overall. Her record here remains the weakest of her Grand Slam career, 8-6, with a fourth round last year her best run.

Everything else about her season argues the opposite. Rybakina won the Australian Open in February, finished runner-up to Iga Swiatek in Toronto, and is 29-7 on hard courts in 2026, a total matched only by Jessica Pegula. She can leave New York as World No. 1, and says she is not counting.

“I don’t check the ranking exactly the point situation, but from media mostly I know where I should get, how the others should play,” she said. “Especially now when I had this injury last week, I feel like the most important just try to stay healthy, play match at a time, because this is not the last tournament of the year.”