TOKYO — Elena Rybakina has withdrawn from the Pan Pacific Open on Saturday due to a back injury, just a day after securing her place at the WTA Finals with a quarterfinal win.
The reigning Wimbledon champion was set to compete against Linda Noskova in the semifinals of the Tokyo event.
“I’m deeply regretful that I can’t participate today,” Rybakina expressed in a statement. “I’ve been struggling with back issues all week and I am unable to give my best performance.”
Noskova will now face Belinda Bencic in Sunday’s final after the Swiss player triumphed over Sofia Kenin with a score of 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-2 in the other semifinal.
Bencic is heading into her 10th career final, a decade after her last appearance at the Pan Pacific Open where she lost to Agnieszka Radwanska in 2015. Notably, she also claimed the Olympic gold medal in singles and the silver in doubles in Tokyo four years prior.
Rybakina’s Friday victory over Victoria Mboko, with a score of 6-3, 7-6 (4), marked her as the eighth player to qualify for next month’s prestigious WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia.
At the WTA Finals, scheduled for November 1-8, Rybakina will join an elite field featuring top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, and Jasmine Paolini.
Gauff, who is the defending champion in Riyadh, triumphed over Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in last year’s final, earning a remarkable $4.8 million in prize money.
