MELBOURNE: Former Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina said she will need some “magic” from her physio if she wants to go further in the tournament after a back spasm flared up during her third-round win on Saturday.
Sixth seed Rybakina left the court after just three games for a medical timeout and treatment before beating Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 6-3, 6-4.
Kazkhstan’s Rybakina was clearly hampered during the match.
She opted to shorten rallies and shoot mainly for winners as she managed to get through to the second week for only the second time after reaching the final in 2023, when she lost to Aryna Sabalenka.
“Honestly, I didn’t know how it was going to go because it came all of a sudden,” Rybakina, who was aided by 37 unforced errors from 32nd seed Yastremska, said of the back issue.
“I needed to stay there and try to hold my serve. I knew that it would be very difficult for me to stay long in the rally so I was trying sometimes risk a little bit more.
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“So really happy that it went my way,” added the 2022 Wimbledon champion.
Rybakina is in a race against time to be fit for her fourth-round match, which will be against an American opponent in either Madison Keys or Danielle Collins on Monday.
Asked if her back would be OK, she replied: “Not really. So I will see my physio and hopefully he does some magic.”
Rybakina pulled out of last season’s Asian swing with a back injury but returned for the season-ending WTA Tour Finals.
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