Rybakina wins Italian Open; Rune to play Medvedev in men’s final

ROME: Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina won the Italian Open when Ukrainian opponent Anhelina Kalinina retired due to a left thigh injury early in the second set of the rain-delayed final on Saturday.

Rybakina was leading 6-4, 1-0, 15-0 when Kalinina called for a trainer and grasped her left leg as she teared up. She then decided she couldn’t continue.

The final began at almost 11 p.m. on Saturday and ended just after midnight on Sunday.

“I’m really sorry that I couldn’t play,” Kalinina said during the trophy ceremony as the crowd whistled after waiting under the rain for hours before the night session started. “I was trying to do my best.”

Holger Rune will face Daniil Medvedev in the men’s final on Sunday.

The 20-year-old Rune rallied past Casper Ruud 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2 and Medvedev performed a little celebratory dance after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 7-5 in a semifinal that was suspended twice in the first set for a total of nearly 4 ½ hours due to rain.

Rybakina earned her biggest tournament win on clay. Her only other title on the surface was in Bucharest in 2019.

It’s been quite a year for Rybakina, who reached the final of the Australian Open, also won an elite title in Indian Wells and was the runner-up in Miami. On Monday, she’ll move up to a career-high No. 4 in the rankings and will be considered a contender at the French Open, which starts next weekend.

The 47th-ranked Kalinina was playing in the biggest final of her career, and has been dedicating her performances to her war-torn country.

Kalinina’s family home was destroyed in a Russian attack last year. Also, her elderly grandparents have had to relocate from the southern city of Nova Kakhovka — which is held by Russian forces — to Kyiv.