Disaster in Seoul: Swiatek withdrawal leaves draw without Top-10
Iga Swiatek is the latest confirmed withdrawal from the WTA 500 Korea Open. The tournament, which kicks off the Asian swing on September 16, had initially announced a star-studded draw featuring nine players from the top-20. However, the world No. 1 cited fatigue as the reason for her withdrawal, leaving the tournament without a top-10 player.
Recent days have seen a wave of withdrawals. It was recently announced that Jessica Pegula (No. 3) would not compete due to a rib injury, and her compatriot Emma Navarro (No. 8) withdrew due to scheduling changes.
Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina (No. 4) has also withdrawn, citing a back injury, as well as former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, who suffered a foot injury, ruling her out of the first Asian tournament of the season.
The Korea Open, which begins on Monday, was upgraded from a WTA 250 event to a WTA 500 event this year, increasing the total prize money from $260,000 to $1 million. Unfortunately, only five players from the top-20 and six from the top-30 remain in the draw. The top seed will now be Daria Kasatkina (No. 13), followed by Liudmila Samsonova (No. 15), Diana Shnaider (No. 16), and Beatriz Haddad Maia (No. 17).
