Elena Rybakina indicates she is dealing with some slight physical issues but suggests everything is under control and she is ready for the remainder of Montreal and the North American hard-court swing.
On Saturday, the Kazakh – who is currently ranked at No. 12 in the world and seeded at No. 9 at the Canadian Open – survived a two-hour and 33-minute battle versus No. 30 seed Dayana Yastremska 5-7 6-2 7-5 to reach the quarterfinal.
For Rybakina, that was already her sixth match on hard courts this summer. Before coming to Montreal, the former world No. 3 reached the Washington semifinal before losing to Leylah Fernandez.
"Well, of course, a little bit getting tired of my issues, but we're managing. Overall I'm happy that I'm ready to play these long matches. I think it's a good preparation for US Open in the end of the day," the 26-year-old said when asked how she was physically feeling.
Rybakina comments on facing Marta Kostyuk next in Montreal
Next up for Rybakina will be a career-fourth meeting against world No. 28 Kostyuk. Two and a half years ago, Kostyuk won their first match at the Adelaide International. Since then, they have met two more times, with the Kazakh winning on the ending side at the 2023 US Open and 2024 Stuttgart.
While the 2022 Wimbledon champion won their last two meetings routinely in straight sets, she insists that she expects "a tough battle" against the Ukrainian.
"We played a couple of times. So different surface, but it's always tough battle. There is noisy matches, that's for sure. I will try to focus on myself. I know that she's really fighter, and she's really physically tough opponent. So yeah, I will try to do my best and hopefully can win that match," the Kazakh said of facing Kostyuk.
In the past, Rybakina made the Montreal semifinal in 2023.
