Elena Rybakina seemingly snubbing Stuttgart Open for Billie Jean King Cup leaves fans confused

Fans have reacted to Elena Rybakina being included in Kazakhstan's Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers despite the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart being held just days later. The 25-year-old is the defending champion at the WTA 500 event, beating Marta Kostyuk in last year's final.

Rybakina most recently competed at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where she reached the fourth round after beating Suzan Lamens and Katie Boulter before losing to ninth seed Mirra Andreeva. This is the first time the Kazakh failed to reach the quarterfinals of an event since the Australian Open back in January.

Rybakina has been included in Kazakhstan's squad for the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, which will take place in Brisbane just days before the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, where she is not on the entry list.

Several fans reacted to the 25-year-old traveling all the way back to Australia instead of heading to Europe for the clay-court season after the Sunshine Double. One stated that Rybakina's scheduling was "crazy".

"OHH— that’s a crazy scheduling especially considering that she’s a defending champion in Stuttgart which starts on April 14th," the fan wrote.

Another fan questioned Rybakina's decision to compete at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers given the other tournaments around the corner.

"Why is she playing this? Doesn't she have other important tournaments to play singles? Has she just written those off or does she feel obligated to play for country? Maybe she enjoys these team-based tournaments more at this point?" the fan wrote.

Another fan called her traveling to Australia for the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers "insane", stating:

"Travel back to Australia is INSANE."

Here are some other fan reactions to Rybakina competing in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers:

"Strange choice. Isn’t Stuttgart in those days?" a fan commented.

"So she's not defending her Stuttgart title tf?? Gurl we really boutta take a free fall down the rankings atp," one fan said.

"Will she not play Stuttgart... that's an automatic 500 points gone from last year and will prob drop her from the top 10," another fan remarked.

Elena Rybakina has won 15 matches so far in 2025

Elena Rybakina in action at the BNP Paribas Open (Image Source: Getty)

Elena Rybakina has currently played 21 matches so far in 2025, with a 15-6 win/loss record to her name. The Kazakh's best performance was perhaps reaching the semifinals at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she beat Moyuka Uchijima, Paula Badosa and Sofia Kenin before losing to eventual champion Mirra Andreeva.

The Kazakh also made it to the last four in Abu Dhabi while reaching the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open. She also helped her nation make it to the semifinals of the United Cup.

After the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, Elena Rybakina is next scheduled to compete at the Madrid Open and then, the Italian Open before the French Open kicks off during the end of May.