Elena Rybakina withdraws from Paris Olympics, Caroline Garcia now seeded

Shortly after the women’s singles draw at the Paris Olympics came out Thursday morning, news of Elena Rybakina’s withdrawal shook up the tournament.

No reason was provided in the initial official communication announcing the news. A social media post from an official ITF account later cited "illness", while the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation went on to specify that the 25-year-old is "suffering from acute bronchitis."

Read More: Paris Olympic tennis draws: Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic in the second round?

In a statement provided to the Federation, Rybakina revealed that she fell ill after Wimbledon and had been racing against time to get well as doctors "categorically forbade" her from training or even flying to Paris for the competition:

"Despite attempts to return to training, my body has not yet recovered. Doctors categorically forbade me to go out on the court," Rybakina wrote. "I am very sorry that I will not be able to live up to your hopes and compete for our team at the Olympics in Paris. I was so close to a medal in Tokyo and carefully prepared for the Paris Games to win gold for Kazakhstan. Unfortunately, illness prevented these plans from coming true."

View: Full women's singles draw 2024 Paris Olympics — Updated

Rybakina was the No. 3 seed, behind Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff. She had landed in the same half as Swiatek and was projected to meet sixth seed Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals. As a result of Rybakina's withdrawal, Caroline Garcia moves into her slot as the No. 17 seed to play Jaqueline Cristian.

The ripple effect continues down the draw with Australia’s Daria Saville now occupying Garcia’s original matchup with Zheng in the first round.

In mixed doubles, Rybakina and Alexander Bublik have been replaced by Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska and Maximo Gonzalez to face third seeds Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz.

Read More: Tonsillitis rules Jannik Sinner out of competing at Paris Olympics

Rybakina has started and stopped numerous times in 2024, primarily due to illnesses. In addition to the Olympics, her pre-tournament withdrawals include Indian Wells, Rome and Eastbourne. She also pulled out ahead of her Dubai quarterfinal and retired four games into her second-round match at Berlin.

The 25-year-old last competed at Wimbledon, falling in the semifinals to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova. Now, her attention turns to the North American hardcourt swing, where she's next scheduled to compete at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Toronto beginning on August 6.