Belinda Bencic withdraws from French Open, scratching first-round match with Elena Rybakina

Belinda Bencic has withdrawn from the French Open with an arm injury, scratching one of the most interesting first-round matchups of the tournament. Bencic, the world No. 39 who has been in strong form since at the end of last year returning from the birth of her first child, had been drawn against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

“I will, unfortunately, miss Roland Garros this year. Just two days ago during a morning practice, I re-aggravated the arm injury that forced me to retire in Rome,” Bencic wrote in a statement announcing her withdrawal. The Swiss was last week forced out of her Italian Open match against Greek world No. 92 Maria Sakkari, having dropped the first set 6-2.

Bencic returned to the WTA Tour in October 2024, after giving birth to her daughter, Bella, in April that year. She opted to play on the third and second rungs of women’s tennis to start her comeback, instead of returning directly to the top level, and profited from the experience of winning — and losing — when she lifted the Abu Dhabi Open title in February.

She also defeated Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko and Naomi Osaka at January’s Australian Open, before losing to Coco Gauff; Bencic then beat Gauff at Indian Wells, Calif., on the way to the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open.

Rybakina will now play a lucky loser in her first-round match, while Bencic said that she hopes two weeks of rest will allow her to return to the court for the start of grass season.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Tennis, Women’s Tennis

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