Rybakina Withdraws From Pan Pacific Open Quarterfinals Due to Injury

Elena Rybakina, the current world's No. 1 and top seed, withdrew from the Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals on Friday. The decision handed a walkover victory to Leylah Fernandez of Canada. Rybakina cited an undisclosed injury as the reason for her exit. She confirmed the news directly to the crowd in Tokyo, telling fans, “I hope to see you all next year.”

The Kazakh player explained that she has been dealing with a minor injury for several days. Her primary focus is now on preparing for the WTA finals in Indian Wells, California, which take place next month. Rybakina had secured the year-end No. 1 ranking the previous day after defeating Yulia Putintseva.

Other quarterfinal matches at the Tokyo tournament concluded on Friday. Kamilla Rakhimova defeated Maya Joint with a score of 7-5, 5-7, 6-1. In another match, Mia Pohankova of Slovakia beat Alycia Parks 7-6 (3), 6-3. Pohankova entered the event as a wild card and turned 18 just last week.

The semifinals will see Rakhimova face Fernandez. The other semifinal will feature Pohankova against the winner of the match between No. 3 seed Diana Shnaider and No. 8 seed Alex Eala. That late quarterfinal match was scheduled for Friday as well.

Rybakina's withdrawal removes the top seed from the tournament bracket. Fernandez now advances to the next round without playing a point. The WTA finals in Indian Wells remain the next major target for the players competing in Japan.