Iga Swiatek endured an unfortunate injury against Maja Chwalinska in the semifinals of the Wuhan Open.
The Pole was in control in the first set, before a left thigh problem significantly hampered her against her long-time friend and compatriot.
Swiatek missed match points in the first set before losing in straight sets 7-5 6-1 against Chwalinska, whose dream season continued with a first Masters final appearance.
For Swiatek, however, the Pole is now in a dangerous position when it comes to qualifying for the WTA Finals at the end of the season.
Despite hobbling with a leg injury, that was what was at the forefront of Swiatek’s mind when she shook Chwalinska’s hand at the net.
During her post-match press conference in Wuhan, Chwalinska revealed the conversation she had with Swiatek after confirming her place in the final.
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“She congratulated me, of course. Like I said before, she told me that if she doesn’t qualify for the WTA Finals, she’s going to ‘kill’ me. Obviously she was just joking. That’s what we talked about,” said Chwalinska.
Swiatek is currently ninth in the race for the WTA Finals, but there is only one place left.
She is currently fighting for the final remaining place alongside Karolina Muchova and Marta Kostyuk.
The Pole has been given a slight boost thanks to Muchova, who has decided not to play the Ningbo Open.
That leaves just Kostyuk and Swiatek in the Chinese tournament, but they have not been given particularly favourable draws at the WTA 500 tournament.
Both have been given a first round bye at the tournament thanks to their ranking, but they could be due for tricky second round opponents.
Swiatek looks likely to play Marie Bouzkova in the second round. The Czech star has won two WTA Tour titles already this season and she’s previously beaten the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula.
However, Bouzkova is yet to beat Swiatek on the WTA Tour, losing all four of her matches so far in her career against the Pole.
Kostyuk, meanwhile, could be set to play Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round of the Ningbo Open. The Russian star has been as high as world No 10 in the WTA Tour rankings and she has a winning head-to-head record against Kostyuk.
Both Kostyuk and Swiatek will need to be at their absolute best to keep their WTA Finals qualification in their own hands and it could go down to the wire as the 2026 season draws to a close.
