Iga Swiatek’s Beijing withdrawal could potentially have big implications for the world No. 1 and Year-End No. 1 battles as the Pole is now set to drop a huge amount of points and Aryna Sabalenka will further decrease the lead at the top.
On Friday, the announcement came out that the Polish tennis star was pulling out of the upcoming China Open due to “personal reasons.” Since the 23-year-old was supposed to be defending her title in China’s capital next week, it was major news but also something that meant she would lose 1,000 points following the conclusion of the WTA 1000 tournament.
“Due to personal matters, I’m forced to withdraw from the @ChinaOpen in Beijing. I’m very sorry as I had an amazing time playing and winning this tournament last year and was really looking forward to being back there. I know that the fans will experience great tennis there and I’m sorry I won’t be a part of it this time,” Swiatek said in a statement.
On the other side, Sabalenka has 215 points to defend in Beijing and she will reach that mark by reaching the quarterfinals. But if she goes further and makes it all the way, she will gain a further 785 ranking points.
Currently, the Pole has 10,885 points but that number will decrease to 9,885 in two weeks. Meanwhile, the…
