What happened
Rybakina reached the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati WTA 1000, where Iga Świątek was waiting - the same opponent who had beaten her in the Toronto final a week earlier. During the match she injured her left ankle and could not continue.
It was her second retirement of the season: in February in Dubai she had withdrawn in the third round with illness.
Why it was alarming
- The calendar. Less than a week remained before the first round of the US Open - no time for a full recovery.
- The ranking race. Rybakina was closing on No. 1, and missing a Grand Slam would have set her back months.
- The nature of the injury. The ankle is the critical joint for her serve: the push off and the landing on the front foot. More on the injuries page.
How it ended
Rybakina confirmed her US Open entry and played five matches in ten days, two of them going to three sets, with no visible restriction in her movement. The injury turned out not to be structural.
A calendar irony. The tournament that looked like the disaster of her season came immediately before the best result of her career: three weeks after retiring in Cincinnati, Rybakina was the world No. 1.
Earlier rounds
Before the quarterfinal she came past Taylor Townsend in the second round, Magdalena Fręch in the third and Diana Shnaider in the fourth - three very different styles in three matches.
Match highlights
How the Cincinnati Open works
The tournament in suburban Cincinnati is one of the oldest on the calendar and traditionally the fastest hard-court WTA 1000 of the summer. The surface produces a low bounce and high ball speed, which is why the event's statistics show an unusually high share of aces and short rallies year after year.
By that logic it ought to be one of Rybakina's best weeks. In practice she has no title here: its position in the calendar - straight after Toronto and a week before the US Open - turns Cincinnati into an event the top of the rankings plays with accumulated fatigue.
What is known about the injury
Rybakina injured her left ankle during the quarterfinal against Iga Świątek and could not continue. Her team published no medical detail, which is normal practice: top players rarely disclose specifics so as not to hand information to opponents.
Indirect evidence suggests the injury was not structural. A week later she opened at the US Open, played five matches in ten days including two three-setters, and showed no visible restriction in movement. More on her injury record is on the fitness page.
The August calendar trap
In 2026 less than two weeks separated the Toronto final from the first round of the US Open, and a full WTA 1000 event sat inside that window - effectively compulsory for the top ten, since skipping it costs points.
Hence the recurring August dilemma: play Cincinnati at full intensity and risk arriving in New York depleted, or hold back and lose ranking ground. Rybakina's 2026 is an illustration of the worst-case version of that trade-off - and of why it ultimately worked out.
The tournament moved to a new site for the 2025 edition, expanding the grounds considerably while keeping the fast surface that has always defined it.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to Rybakina in Cincinnati?
She injured her left ankle in the quarterfinal against Iga Świątek and had to retire.
Did Rybakina miss the US Open because of the injury?
No. She played and reached the semifinals.
Who did Rybakina lose to in Cincinnati?
The match went to Iga Świątek - Rybakina retired during the quarterfinal.