The Wuhan Open 2024 is in full swing with women tennis players battling to pocket crucial points at the last WTA 1000 event of the season.
The all-women tennis tournament has returned after a hiatus of five years and players are raring to leave their mark in the tournament. However, some top players are conspicuously absent from the event.
Let us have a look at players who are missing from Wuhan Open 2024:
Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek is the most high-profile player to withdraw from Wuhan Open 2024. The Pole was supposed to make her debut at the Wuhan event , but decided to pull out three days prior to the tournament. The five-time Grand Slam winner hasn’t played since her US Open quarter-final loss to Jessica Pegula. Swiatek will now miss the last WTA 1000 event of the season.
Her decision, however, will not affect her chances of making it to the year-end tournament in Riyadh as she has already qualified for the much-awaited event. The withdrawal does leave Swiatek’s World No. 1 position under threat, most notably from Aryna Sabalenka, who will play in Wuhan as the two-time defending champion.
Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina has been out of action due to injury. She has not played since withdrawing from the 2024 US Open due to a lower back injury. The World No. 4 withdrew also from the Asian swing in late September due to the injury.
Rybakina is currently in the third position on the Race to the WTA Finals in Riyadh, and participation at the WTA 1000 events in Beijing and Wuhan would have helped her case for the Riyadh event. The Kazakh began her 2024 season with a win in Brisbane before title victories in Abu Dhabi and Stuttgart.
Danielle Collins
Danielle Collins is missing from actions in Wuhan due to illness. She had also withdrawn from last week’s China Open in beijing. The American returned to the WTA top 10 in July 2024 for the first time in nearly two years after winning the Miami Open and Charleston Open. The 30-year-old is set to retire from tennis by the end of 2024, and she would like to play some shots before calling it quits.
Ons Jabeur
Ons Jabeur announced her decision to end her 2024 campaign prematurely due to a niggling shoulder injury. The five-time WTA winner even withdrew from tournaments in Cincinnati and Washington and the US Open due to concerns with her shoulder.
The last title that Jabeur won was the 2023 Ningbo Open. Her long absence from the court has kept him out of the WTA top 20 for the first time since August 2021. The Tunisian is hopeful to make a comeback next season with the opener Australian Open 2025.
Also Read: Wuhan Open 2024: Preview To Last WTA 1000 Event Of The Season
Caroline Garcia
Caroline Garcia decided to withdraw from Wuhan Open 2024 owing to a right shoulder injury. Apart from that, exhaustion from anxiety and panic attacks were other reasons for the 36th-ranked to end her 2024 campaign early.
The 30-year-old was unable to move past the second round at any of the Grand Slams this season. The French national is said to be working hard on her mental and physical strength to make a strong comeback next season.
