Elena Rybakina has been a constant presence on tour in the 2026 season. She has already played six tournaments this year and enjoyed significant success, winning the Australian Open and reaching the final at the Indian Wells WTA 1000 event. With her schedule tightening ahead of the clay swing, Rybakina has decided to skip a major cup tie.
The 26-year-old will miss Kazakhstan’s upcoming qualifier against Canada in the Billie Jean King Cup. The tie will be held at the Beeline Arena in Astana and will be played on clay on April 10-11. The winning team of this match will gain direct entry into the final stage of the competition. Though Rybakina’s absence will be a major blow for Kazakhstan, team captain Yuriy Schukin feels that the World No. 2 didn’t really have any other choice.
“You see, after Australia, she is second in the world ranking, and she has the opportunity to become the first. But with such a tight schedule, she has to sacrifice some tournaments somewhere, even such as the Billie Jean King Cup, where you play for the country. All this is in order to achieve such an achievement for the country and become the best in the world. This is a joint decision of the tennis federation, it is not only Lena who decided so,” Schukin said ahead of the match.
He also acknowledged that Elena Rybakina could have taken this decision in order to avoid picking up an injury during an important stage of the tour.
“Was this decision due to the fact that this is just a qualification? Probably not, because, as I said, tennis doesn’t always have the opportunity to be the first. This is a historic moment. Therefore, I would not like to miss it. You never know, because there are injuries in sports. Therefore, such a joint decision was made,” he added.
With Elena Rybakina missing, the highest-ranked player present on Kazakhstan’s team will be World No. 74 Yulia Putintseva. The other members of the team include the likes of Yuriy Schukin, Zhibek Kulambayeva, Aruzhan Sagandykova, Sonja Zhiyenbayeva, and Anna Danilina.
Canada has announced its squad for the qualifying clash. Marie-Eve Pelletier will captain the team, with World No. 130 Bianca Andreescu as its highest-ranked player. The lineup includes Kayla Cross, Ariana Arseneault, and Alexandra Vagramov.
Like Kazakhstan, Canada faces a major setback, with three players withdrawing from the squad ahead of the encounter.
Victoria Mboko and 2 others withdraw from Canada’s squad
Among the players who have withdrawn from the Canadian team is none other than World No. 9 Victoria Mboko. The 19-year-old will not be travelling with the team to Astana as she will get her wisdom teeth removed after suffering from recurring dental pain for the past few weeks.
“I am very sorry to have to withdraw from the upcoming Billie Jean King Cup tie in Kazakhstan. In recent days, I have experienced recurring dental pain and will need to remove my four wisdom teeth in the coming days. Given that, I am sadly unable to travel to Kazakhstan and will therefore miss this tie. There is no greater privilege than playing for and representing Canada – I wish the team the best of luck next week and I am very much looking forward to joining the team again later this year,” she had said.
Canada will also be without the services of Marina Stakusic and Gabriela Dabrowski. Though the squad initially included the two, they withdrew from the match last month, prompting the team to bring in Arseneault and Vagramov as replacements.
Notably, Strakusic had pulled out of the match due to a back injury that could even end up delaying her start to the clay-court season.
“I’m really disappointed to have to pull out of the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers, but I felt this was the best decision I could make for the team given that my body is not at 100 per cent. Representing Team Canada is an honour that I don’t take for granted, and the weeks spent with the team are some of my favourites of the year. I’ll be watching and cheering them on from afar, and I look forward to my next opportunity to wear the maple leaf,” she explained.
With both Kazakhstan and Canada missing key players, the underdogs will have a chance to shine at the Billie Jean King Cup. Who do you think will come out on top in Astana?
