Iga Swiatek has withdrawn from the Ningbo Open due to an injury and the decision has had a major impact on her hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals.
The six-time Grand Slam winner struggled with a left thigh injury during her Wuhan Open semi-final match against fellow Pole Maja Chwalinska and she ignored calls from her physiotherapist to retire from the match.
She went on to lose in straight sets with result putting a major dent in her chances of competing at the season-ending tournament in Indian Wells.
And that injury has proven to be more serious as she has been ruled out of the WTA 500 event in Ningbo, which ends her hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals as one of the top-eight players.
Following her defeat in the last four in Wuhan, Swiatek found herself 545 points behind Karolina Muchova – who is occupying the final place for in the WTA Finals Race To Indian Wells – in the standings.
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With two WTA 500 events – the Ningbo Open and the Pan Pacific Open – remaining on her calendar, there were enough points up for grabs to make up those 545 points, especially with Muchova not scheduled to play in either event.
Her chances of qualifying outright are now over even if she goes on to win the Pan Pacific Open, as she would still be 45 points adrift of Muchova.
The 25-year-old, though, looks set to qualify as one of the two alternates along with Marta Kostyuk, who is currently 10th in the Race and could still overtake Muchova if she wins both the Ningbo and Pan Pacific events.
But it remains to be seen if she will play in Japan or travel to the United States as alternate, as she could decide to end her season early due to her injury.
It is the first time since 2019 that Swiatek has failed to qualify for the season-ending tournament (she qualified in 2020, but the tournament was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic).
The former world No 1 won the WTA Finals in 2023 – beating Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-0 in the final – but she has struggled in recent years as she failed to get out of the group phase in 2024 and 2025.
Swiatek is currently eighth in the WTA Rankings as she moved up one place on the back of her semi-final run in Wuhan and she looks set to finish the year in the top 10 despite what has been a poor season by her usually high standards.
