Tennis world number one Rybakina withdraws from WTA Finals due to virus

Rybakina pulled out on the eve of the Indian Wells tournament, with Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk replacing the top seed.Published On 8 Nov 20268 Nov 2026Defending champion Elena Rybakina has pulled out of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals, saying she was not physically ready to compete, allowing Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk to take her place in the eight-player field at Indian Wells.Organisers on Saturday cited a viral illness as the official reason for the world number one’s “disappointing” withdrawal, but said the world number one needs time to recover from the physical toll of a demanding year.Tournament director Garbine Muguruza, a former world number one and two-time Grand Slam champion, said she had spoken with Rybakina and that the Kazakh had been unable to recover in time after struggling with physical problems late in the season.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Elena Rybakina retains Ningbo title, wins first trophy as world number onelist 2 of 3Tennis great Rafael Nadal set to join Real Madrid boardlist 3 of 3Saudi tennis ‘slam’ with Alcaraz, Djokovic postponed amid Houthi attacksend of list“We love Elena, and we know that she was feeling so-so in Tokyo as wel...