World number four Elena Rybakina withdrew from the French Open on Saturday due to illness, handing an unexpected and significant title boost to defending champion Iga Swiatek

Rybakina had been due to face Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain in the third round in the opening match on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“I was not feeling good yesterday and the day before. I didn’t sleep last night,” said the 23-year-old Wimbledon champion.

“I had fever and a headache and it’s difficult to breathe. I tried to play in the warm-up but I feel it’s the right decision to withdraw.”

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Rybakina had swept into the last 32 without dropping a set and had been seeded to face two-time champion Swiatek in the semi-finals.

The Russian-born Kazakh was seen as a potential champion having arrived at Roland Garros with the prestigious Italian Open clay court title under her belt.

“I guess with my allergy that my immune system just went down and I picked up something,” Rybakina said.

“The doctor said there’s a virus in Paris.

“I‘m really upset not be able to play, but I guess that’s life. There is a lot of ups and downs. Today I just wanted to give 100 per cent, and obviously I’m far from being 100 per cent.”

Rybakina said she will focus on recovery ahead of defending her title at Wimbledon which gets underway on July 3.

Sorribes Tormo, ranked 132 in the world, will be playing in the second week of a grand slam tournament for the first time. She will face either Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia or Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia for a place in the quarter-finals.

Later on Saturday, world number one Swiatek took just 51 minutes to reach the French Open fourth round as American star Coco Gauff ended 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva’s memorable Paris debut.

Swiatek blitzed 80th-ranked Wang Xinyu of China 6-0, 6-0 on the back of 21 winners as the 22-year-old Pole took another step closer to becoming the first woman since Justine Henin in 2007 to win back-to-back titles at Roland Garros.

Of the six sets she has played so far, four have been to love. In all she has dropped just eight games through three rounds.

“It was a really solid performance from me. It’s not easy to stay disciplined and keep your focus,” said Swiatek, who also won the title in 2020.

Swiatek will face Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko, who breezed past 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu for the loss of just two games, for a quarter-final berth.

Meanwhile, world number four Casper Ruud, the runner-up to Rafael Nadal in 2022, ended Zhang Zhizhen’s dream of making history for China, dropping the first set before easing to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 win.

The 26-year-old Zhang was bidding to become the first Chinese man since 1936 to reach the fourth round in Paris.

“It was very tough in the first set, he was hitting many winners and I couldn’t find a hole in his game,” said Ruud, who hit 36 winners and saved seven of 10 break points.

“At 5-4 in the second set, he played some sloppy shots and that gave me the set, maybe the match.”

Ruud, playing in the third round for a fifth successive year, will face either Nicolas Jarry of Chile or Marcos Giron for a place in the quarter-finals.