Elena Rybakina expresses hope Iga Swiatek's injury isn't too serious after Italian Open retirement

After winding up her match early thanks to a walkover from Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina expressed hope there was nothing seriously wrong with the Pole and that she would recover quickly. Rybakina also stated that finishing a match this way was far from ideal, and that it was a good contest between the two until the injury struck.

Swiatek decided to retire from the match with the final set score tied at 2-2. She had just come off a grueling second set that went down to the tiebreak, on the second last point of which she seemingly tweaked something.

It was an engrossing match between the two players until the defending champion's thigh injury ended the game prematurely.

“It’s never good to finish a match like this," Elena Rybakina said in her post-match presser. "It was a really good match. I hope it’s nothing serious for Iga & I just wish her a speedy recovery."

Elena Rybakina has beaten Iga Swiatek three times in 2023 already

Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2023 - Day Ten Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan serves in her women's singles quarter-final match against Iga Swiatek of Poland

Iga Swiatek had an impressive streak of 14 consecutive wins in Rome before she was forced to retire from her quarter-final match against Elena Rybakina.

Swiatek took a medical timeout after the second set, returning with a bandaged upper right thigh. She could play only four more games before she retired.

It had been a good contest through the first two sets, with the reigning Wimbledon champion scripting a comeback in the second set after losing the first 6-2.

The first set was a masterclass by Swiatek as she repeatedly sent down big groundstrokes Rybakina had no answer to. The World No. 1 dictated the rallies and kept Rybakina on her toes and on the move all over the court, and it took the Kazakh 30 minutes to win her first game.

The big-serving Rybakina leads their head-to-head in 2023 with a 3-0 margin. The World No. 6 got the better of Swiatek at Indian Wells in the semis and in the Australian Open fourth round, aside from the walkover at the Italian Open.

Elena Rybakina will now meet Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in the semi-final. Ostapenko defeated Paula Badosa 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the top four.

The other semi-final features Veronika Kudermetova of Russia facing off against Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine.