Tennis-Rybakina withdraws from Pan Pacific Open

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 12, 2023 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in action during her quarter final match against Tunisia's Ons Jabeur REUTERS/Hannah Mckay/File Photo

(Reuters) - Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina on Monday pulled out of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, days after slamming the WTA for the introduction of performance byes at the tournament.

Byes are usually awarded to top-seeded players, but performance byes allow for players who have played well in the previous week to move directly into the second round of the following tournament.