Rybakina reveals painful foot injury disrupted preparation for US Open triumph

Elena Rybakina has revealed that a foot injury left her unable to walk without pain before the US Open, where she went on to defeat Aryna Sabalenka for her third Grand Slam title. BBC Sport reported that the 27-year-old required a recovery plan and a week away from on-court training before beginning her championship run in New York.

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The Kazakh player aggravated the injury during her Cincinnati quarter-final against Iga Swiatek last month, a little more than a week before the year's final major began. Rybakina said an MRI after her arrival in New York had not looked encouraging and that walking remained painful for several days. She described uncertainty about how her condition would develop from one day to the next.

Rybakina credited a doctor in Australia, who stayed in telephone contact, and her team with putting together a plan. Her preparation included daily recovery sessions in the gym rather than court practice for a week. Dinners out and cinema visits also helped her take her mind off the situation, according to the BBC's account of her post-final comments.

Once the tournament began, Rybakina won her first four matches without losing a set, a sequence that included victory over Naomi Osaka. She then defeated Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the quarter-finals and third seed Coco Gauff in the semi-finals. Reaching the last four had already ensured she would replace Sabalenka as world number one, before the two met for the trophy.

Saturday's final ended 6-4 5-7 6-2 in Rybakina's favour. Despite landing only 27% of her first serves in the opening set, she won 22 of 30 points on serve and faced no break point. Sabalenka broke in the 12th game of the second set to force a decider. Rybakina recovered to take control, then overcame two double faults while serving for the championship and finished with her 12th ace.

The victory added the US Open to Rybakina's Wimbledon title from 2022 and this year's Australian Open crown, also won against Sabalenka. She is set to become the 30th woman to lead the rankings on Monday, ending Sabalenka's 99-week spell at the top. With three different major titles secured, the French Open is the only missing part of her career Grand Slam collection.