Iga Swiatek failed to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals for the first time since 2019 after being forced to withdraw from the Ningbo Open due to injury.
The six-time Grand Slam champion was one of three players in the mix for claiming the final qualifying spot for the event in Indian Wells, which featured the eight highest-ranked players in the world. Karolina Muchova is currently in the final qualifying spot, and Swiatek needed a deep run in China this week to overtake the Czech. Marta Kostyuk is the other contender.
However, Swiatek has been forced to withdraw from the Ningbo tournament due to a thigh injury she picked up while playing in Wuhan. Whilst playing in the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 event last week, the Pole struggled with her movement and needed a medical timeout before losing to compatriot Maja Chwalinska, who went on to claim the title.
“After careful consideration, I’ve decided to withdraw from the tournament,” Swiatek said in a statement issued by the Ningbo tournament. “I’ve been experiencing an ongoing problem with my left thigh over the past weeks and I feel that giving myself the time to rest and recover is the right decision.”
The 25-year-old has won only one title this season, which was at the Canadian Open in August. Should she win no more trophies, it will be the first season since 2020 that she hasn’t won multiple WTA titles, when numerous events were cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. In the Grand Slams, her best performance of the year was at the Australian Open, where she reached the quarter-finals.
Swiatek won the WTA Finals in 2023 but has failed to progress beyond the round-robin stages in three out of her four other appearances. She also reached the semi-finals in 2022.
Despite missing out on an automatic spot, Swiatek will still likely be going to the event as one of the two alternates, as long as she is fit to do so. This year’s WTA Finals will take place next month at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. World No.1 Elena Rybakina is the defending champion.
