Elena Rybakina, the reigning champion, withdrew from Friday’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome due to sickness. On Friday, she was supposed to take on Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu in her first-round encounter.
Oceane Dodin, a lucky loser, replaced Rybakina, and Begu prevailed in a walkover of the opening set. The No. 4 seed, Rybakina, released a statement saying, “I am disappointed to have to withdraw from Rome this year, but unfortunately, I do not feel well enough to compete.”
“I have such good memories from last year and am looking forward to defending my title.” Rybakina, a Kazakhstani woman, withdrew from the two competitions she won the previous year. She withdrew from the Indian Wells, California, tournament in March, citing sickness once more.
In the Rome final in 2023, Rybakina triumphed over Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina. With her eight WTA championships, Rybakina will compete at Wimbledon in 2022. The field level media for 2024 are as follows: