victory here would have taken her to within touching distance of the world No 1 ranking<\/a>.<\/p>\nSwiatek, who had been in a genuine contest before the stoppage, was visibly troubled by her opponent\u2019s plight. \u201cI was feeling anxious just looking at the situation. I hope Elena will be fine,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought we were playing a good match, but health is a priority. The next tournament is the priority, the US Open is the US Open, and I hope she\u2019s going to be ready for that. She\u2019s super close to being No 1 in the world. It\u2019s a shame. I hope she\u2019s going to be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Swiatek, it extends a strong week in which she had earlier beaten Diane Parry (6-3, 6-3), No 29 seed Maria Sakkari (4-6, 6-1, 6-1) and qualifier Emiliana Arango (6-3, 6-0), after winning the Canadian Open. Rybakina, for her part, had looked in fine form too, dropping just one set on her way through, with wins over No 14 seed Diana Shnaider, Magdalena Frech and Taylor Townsend.<\/p>\n
Swiatek will now face American No 3 seed Jessica Pegula, a winner earlier on Thursday, for a place in the final. But the abiding image of the night was of Rybakina forced to stop mid-match, and the hope across the sport that her injury proves nothing serious ahead of New York.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n