"Becoming a bit boring to stay too long" - Elena Rybakina continues to raise complaints about Madrid Open and Italian Open's 2-week schedules

Elena Rybakina has been vocal about her concerns regarding the Madrid Open and the Italian Open's two-week long playing schedule. The Kazakh said that a prolonged tournament made it boring for her to stay.

Rybakina recently had a semifinal run at the 2024 Madrid Open where she fell to eventual runner-up Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling match that ended 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) in favor of the latter.

The World No.4 is currently in Rome to compete at the Italian Open. She will kick off her campaign in the second round against either Rebeka Masarova or Irina-Camelia Begu.

During a pre-tournament press conference, Rybakina expressed her frustration with the length of the Madrid Open and Italian Open tournaments, both of which span two weeks. She stated that the extended duration of these tournaments can become monotonous and "boring" for players.

"I would say it's long because it's kind of boring to stay also, like you do your routines, then it's becoming a bit boring to really stay too long in these tournaments. I don't know," Rybakina said.

Previously during a press conference at the Madrid Open, Elena Rybakina highlighted the difference between tournaments like the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Open, which are long but do not lead up to a Grand Slam event, compared to the Madrid Open and Italian Open, which precede the French Open.

"It may make sense for Indian Wells and Miami to have that duration, but to do it in these two events, shortly before Roland Garros... With the new rules there is no room to choose, we are forced to compete in too many tournaments," Elena Rybakina said, as quoted by Punto de Break (translated from Spanish).

The world No.4 stated that there are lot of changes that are needed to be made on the tennis circuit.

"We are going in [the] wrong direction, there is a lot to improve on the circuit and last year I wasted a lot of energy trying to change things. I realized that it is very difficult to do so, so I will just assume the rules and do the best I can," she added.

Elena Rybakina is the defending champion at Italian Open 2024

Elena Rybakina at Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2023

Elena Rybakina will be aiming to defend her title at the 2024 Italian Open.

Last year, Rybakina began her campaign in Rome in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. She started strong by defeating Jasmine Paolini 7-6, 6-1 in her opening match. In the third round, she faced Russian Anna Kalinskaya, who withdrew from the match, allowing the Kazakh to advance to the fourth round .

Rybakina continued her winning streak by defeating Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3, securing her spot in the quarterfinals where she faced the two-time defending champion, Iga Swiatek. However, Swiatek was forced to retire during their match due to a hip injury.

At the semifinals, Elena Rybakina defeated Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4 to secure her spot in the final. In the championship match, the World No.4 defeated Anhelina Kalinina, who had to retire due to a left thigh injury, with to score reading 6-4, 1-0 to the Kazakh.