Tennis’s eight-woman finale in the California desert has lost its headliner. Elena Rybakina, the world’s top-ranked player, called off her participation on Saturday, barely 24 hours before play begins, because of what the tour described as a virus.
Explaining the decision, the Kazakh star wrote that her “body is just not physically ready” and that she now plans a spell of recovery at home before next year. The decision had been coming: she had already postponed her pre-tournament media duties from Friday to Saturday, and a week earlier she had pulled out before her quarterfinal in Tokyo with a neck problem.
Her absence also removes the defending champion. Twelve months ago in Riyadh she slipped in as the final qualifier and then went through the week unbeaten. This time she was the first name confirmed, having booked her place by winning the US Open in September, the title that also lifted her to No. 1. Skipping the finale hardly dents a superb campaign: she won 54 of 68 matches and collected silverware in Melbourne, New York, Stuttgart and Ningbo. She is assured of finishing the season at the top.
Stepping in is Ukrainian reserve Marta Kostyuk, who inherits the vacant slot and is thrown straight into Sunday’s curtain-raiser with Linda Nosková, this summer’s winner at the All England Club. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, both Americans, complete the section and face each other later that day.
