Staff Reporter.
Defending champion Elena Rybakina withdrew hours before her opening match at the ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters on Friday with a gastrointestinal illness.
The former Wimbledon champion from Kazakhstan, seeded fourth, had been due to open her campaign with a second-round meeting with Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska.
She was replaced in the draw by American lucky loser Kayla Day.
“It is with great sadness I must announce, I will not be able to participate at this year’s Indian Wells tournament due to gastrointestinal issues,” Rybakina said in a statement.
“Those close to me know how much this tournament means to me and how much I wanted to come back and defend my title.
“I would like to thank all the fans who came out here to support me and I am sorry they will not get a chance to see me play this year.
“Now I will rest and recover so I can come out and play and compete for my fans to the best of my abilities once again.”
Rybakina, who beat Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s final, already owns two titles this season, winning at Brisbane and Abu Dhabi. But she pulled out of her scheduled quarterfinal in Dubai last month also complaining of gastrointestinal trouble.
Meanwhile World number one Iga Swiatek is through to the third round at Indian Wells, while Angelique Kerber’s successful comeback continues.
Poland’s Swiatek beat Danielle Collins 6-3 6-0, having broken the American’s serve to make it 5-3 before breezing through the second set.
Kerber, 36, recovered to beat Latvia’s 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko 5-7 6-3 6-3.
Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, who also recently returned to the tour after becoming a mother, also progressed with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 win over Donna Vekic.
American Katie Volynets, ranked 131st in the world, pulled off a major upset after she beat Tunisian sixth seed Ons Jabeur 6-4 6-4.
Another contender who was knocked out in the second round was Russian 15th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, beaten 7-5 6-1 by Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.
Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, seeded seventh, went through 6-0 6-2 against American Bernarda Pera.
Italian Jasmine Paolini eased to a 6-3-6-3 win over Germany’s Tatjana Maria while Russian Veronika Kudermetova clinched a 6-1 7-5 win over Japan’s Nao Hibino.