Rennae Stubbs says the quiet part out loud about Elena Rybakina

Elena Rybakina is a great player. At least, she is capable of being so. Her game should translate to the US Open, but it never has. Her best result at the tournament is getting to the third round. In 2024, she won her first-round match and then couldn't play her second-round match due to an injury.

At least, that is what Rybakina is telling the tennis world. She seemed fine in round one, and her withdrawal from the US Open is the eighth time she has pulled out of a tournament due to illness or injury this year. That is clearly far more than would be expected. So many events being missed seem to imply there is a greater issue besides an off-and-on injury.

Tennis commentator Rennae Stubbs thinks there is something amiss with Rybakina. This is compounded by the fact that Rybakina recently split with coach Stefano Vukov. The implication is that Rybakina might not really have been suffering a long-term injury but that something was going on in her camp.

Rennae Stubbs is not picking up what Elena Rybakina is putting down

To be sure, Rybakina, while sometimes adding a bit of biting humor to press conferences, is generally seen as one of the nicest players in tennis. She is refreshingly open and honest even if sometimes bothered by the same question being asked over and over. We would all feel that way.

As for Stubbs, she said of Rybakina on ESPN, "What’s going on with her, I think it’s a lot more than we realize. There’s something obviously going on here. I don’t want to speculate, but this is a very unusual situation. Eighth withdrawals this year, with undisclosed injury now at the US Open. I just think there’s something more going on here. This is not a normal situation."

Of course, Stubbs is 100 percent accurate. The fact that tennis fans have been given the same excuse for Rybakina pulling out of tournaments but not disclosing what the injury might be is weird. This is not to say Rybakina is being untruthful about her situation - she has no reason to have to give us a good excuse - but hopefully, whatever the problem is gets fixed with a coaching change.

The player is only 25 years old. She has a lot of tennis ahead of her in her career. Let's just hope that whatever the concern truly is gets remedied soon. She deserves better.