While the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing is still ongoing, a host of big name players have withdrawn from the upcoming Wuhan Open.
The Wuhan Open is the 10th and final WTA 1000 event on the calendar, and the 2026 edition will be held from 12 to 18 October.
Wuhan, which is staged on outdoor hard courts at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center, is one of the three WTA 1000 events that still uses the original one-week, 56-player format.
Coco Gauff was the reigning Wuhan Open champion, but she announced on Wednesday that she will not defend her title.
In a statement, Gauff said: “I’m disappointed to withdraw from Wuhan, especially as the defending champion. I always love playing there.
“After a long year, my body needs some time to rest and recover. I look forward to returning next year.”
Gauff is among 11 WTA Tour stars who have withdrawn from the 2026 Wuhan Open.
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Besides Gauff, another seven current top 25 players have pulled out: Elena Rybakina, Amanda Anisimova, Victoria Mboko, Naomi Osaka, Madison Keys, Emma Navarro and Anastasia Potapova.
Like Gauff, world No 1 Rybakina cited the need for rest and recovery when she withdrew last week.
“I’m very sorry to the fans who were looking forward to seeing me play,” Rybakina said in a statement.
“I’ll take some time to rest and recover. Thank you for your understanding and continued support. See you next year.”
After losing a thrilling three-set fourth round match to Karolina Muchova in Beijing, Osaka withdrew from Wuhan.
In a post on Threads, Osaka said: “I’m going to fly back home [to] see my beautiful daughter and spend my birthday with my family for the first time in years.
“I tried my best and I’ll have an opportunity to try again in Tokyo, It’ll be alright!”
Full list of Wuhan Open withdrawals
- Elena Rybakina (world No 1) → replaced by Liudmila Samsonova
- Coco Gauff (world No 4) → replaced by Kimberly Birrell
- Amanda Anisimova (world No 11) → replaced by Anhelina Kalinina
- Victoria Mboko (world No 15) → replaced by Cristina Bucșa
- Naomi Osaka (world No 17) → replaced by Katie Boulter
- Madison Keys (world No 23) → replaced by Lilli Tagger
- Emma Navarro (world No 24) → replaced by Tamara Korpatsch
- Anastasia Potapova (world No 25) → replaced by Janice Tjen
- Hailey Baptiste (world No 42) → replaced by Mayar Sherif
- Barbora Krejcikova (world No 43) → replaced by Zheng Qinwen
- Karolina Pliskova (world No 51) → replaced by TBC
