Elena rakina the number four seed at the US Open has shocked the tennis world by withdrawing from the tournament just hours before her scheduled match her decision to pull out due to an injury has allowed French qualifier Jessica ponet to move into the third round without facing any competition Ry bakina was set to be the highlight of the day on court 17 but her unexpected withdrawal has left fans and commentators alike stunned this latest development is part of a difficult year for the 25-year-old who has been plagued by injuries forcing her to withdraw from other major tournaments including Indian Wells and the Rome Masters adding to the drama Ry bakina recently parted ways with her longtime coach Stephano vukov her brief and reserved interview after her first round victory over Destiny aava in New York only fueled speculation about her state of mind and Readiness for the tournament the official announcement of her withdrawal came just in time with Ry bakina stating unfortunately I have to withdraw from my match today due to my injuries I did not want to finish the last grand slam of the Year this way but I have to listen to my body and I hope I can close out the remainder of the Year Strong thank you to all the fans who have and continued to support me and I wish the remaining players good luck when asked about her split from coach vukov during a press conference Ry bina's responses were notably tur she acknowledged the change stating well of course it is different we worked for 5 years but still I got support from Yuri shooken and we talked about the tactic and everything so I was prepared for the match despite being pressed for details about the timing of her split from vukov just before the US Open rakina remained tight lipped saying well I don't want to talk about it too much but yeah that was our decision to split her frustration with the persist an questioning was evident as she added I will let you know guys if my Coach situation is going to change so Ry bokina withdrawal is a significant loss for the US Open and her absence will surely be felt as the tournament progresses