Elena Rybakina relies on ‘physical magic’ after back spasm issues at 2025 Australian Open

Former Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina says she will need a little “magic” from her physio if she wants to go further in the tournament after a spasm back burst during his third-round victory on Saturday. Sixth-seeded Rybakina left the court after just three matches for a medical timeout and treatment before beating Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 6-3, 6-4. Kazakhstan’s Rybakina was clearly embarrassed during the match. She opted to shorten the exchanges and mainly aim for winners, as she only managed to advance to the second week for the second time after reaching the final in 2023, when she lost to Aryna Sabalenka.

“I honestly didn’t know how it was going to go because it happened all of a sudden,” Rybakina, who was helped by 37 unforced errors from 32nd seed Yastremska, said of the problem of back.

“I had to stay there and try to hold my serve. I knew it would be very difficult for me to stay in the rally for long so I sometimes tried to risk a little more.

“I’m really happy that it went the way I wanted it to,” added the 2022 Wimbledon champion.

Rybakina is in a race against time to be fit for her fourth-round match, which faces an American opponent in either Madison Keys or Danielle Collins on Monday.

Asked if her back would be okay, she said: “Not really. So I’m going to see my physio and hope he does some magic.”

Rybakina withdrew from last season’s Asian swing due to a back injury, but returned for the season-ending WTA Tour Finals.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)