{"id":2056,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/2056","headline":"Rybakina withdraws from WTA Finals with viral illness","dek":"The world No. 1 pulls out on the eve of the tournament, opening a spot in the draw for Marta Kostyuk.","body":"Elena Rybakina will not defend her WTA Finals title. The world No. 1 announced on the eve of the tournament in Indian Wells that she is withdrawing because of a viral illness, ending her bid to win the event in back-to-back years for the first time since 2014.\n\nRybakina had been set to begin play on Sunday. Her exit opens a spot in the draw for Marta Kostyuk.\n\n\"I am really sad to inform all my fans and supporters that I unfortunately have to withdraw from the WTA Finals this year,\" Rybakina said. \"I've had an incredible season but my body is just not physically ready to compete.\"\n\nThe 27-year-old Kazakh had a standout 2026, winning both the Australian Open and the US Open to claim the top ranking for the first time in her career. Her withdrawal means she will not get the chance to join Serena Williams as a back-to-back WTA Finals champion this season.","published_at":"2026-11-07T23:49:20.417156+00:00","source_count":4,"written_from":[{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"World No. 1 tennis star withdraws from WTA Finals over health issues","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/11/07/sports/health-issues-lead-to-no-1-elena-rybakinas-wta-final-withdrawal/"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"World number one Rybakina withdraws from WTA Finals","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/world-number-one-rybakina-withdraws-211059985.html"},{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"World No. 1 Elena Rybakina withdraws from WTA Finals","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7761892/2026/11/07/elena-rybakina-wta-withdraw-tennis-injury/"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"World No.1 Rybakina withdraws from WTA Finals","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/world-no-1-rybakina-withdraws-200908936.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"WTA Finals loses defending champion: Elena Rybakina shares news no one wanted to hear","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/wta-finals-loses-defending-champion-201609871.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Elena Rybakina withdraws from WTA Finals, Marta Kostyuk takes her place","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/elena-rybakina-withdraws-wta-finals-203736272.html"},{"outlet":"ESPN","publisher":"ESPN","title":"No. 1 Rybakina withdraws from WTA Finals for medical reasons","url":"https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/50412483/elena-rybakina-withdraws-wta-finals-medical-reasons"}],"image":null,"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}