Iga Swiatek has ended her 2026 season. The Pole withdrew from the Ningbo Open on Tuesday, 20 October, with a problem in her left thigh, a decision that also means she will miss the WTA Finals for the first time since 2019.
A thigh problem from Wuhan
The injury dates back to last week's Wuhan Open. Swiatek moved with difficulty in her semi-final against compatriot Maja Chwalinska and needed a medical time-out before losing 7-5 6-1; Chwalinska went on to win the title. In a statement released by the Ningbo tournament, Swiatek said she had been dealing with the problem for several weeks and that resting was the right decision.
On Instagram she went further, writing that "the past few months, or actually the past couple of years, have been incredibly intense" and that she needed to "rest and recover", according to EssentiallySports. She added that she would "come back with passion and motivation to keep improving".
A one-title season
By her standards, 2026 has been modest. Swiatek won one title, the Canadian Open in Toronto in August, and did not go beyond the quarter-finals at any of the four Grand Slams, her best run coming at the Australian Open. Unless something changes, it will be her first season since 2020 without multiple WTA titles, Ubitennis noted. She is now ninth in the world rankings.
Her record at the season finale is also mixed: she won the title in 2023 and reached the semi-finals in 2022, but went out in the round-robin stage in her three other appearances.
Muchova or Kostyuk for the last place
Seven players are already through to Indian Wells, where the event is played from 8 to 15 November. The WTA lists Karolina Muchova in the last qualifying place on 4,735 points. Swiatek, on 4,189, needed at least a quarter-final in Ningbo to keep her chances alive.
Her withdrawal leaves Marta Kostyuk as the only player who can still overtake Muchova, who is not entered in another event. The Ukrainian, on 3,920 points, is the third seed in Ningbo and opens against Ekaterina Alexandrova. According to the WTA, Muchova clinches the last place if Kostyuk does not reach the Ningbo final. Even then, Kostyuk would very likely need a second deep run the following week; Tennis Up To Date calculates that two titles are the only route that clearly closes the 815-point gap.
What it means
The WTA Finals lose one of their biggest names, a year after Swiatek's last Grand Slam title at Wimbledon 2025. For the Pole, the priority is now 2027: a full pre-season after a draining two years, with the Australian Open in January as the next major target. Our WTA Finals race guide tracks who is through, and the WTA rankings update every Monday.
Sources
This article was written by TiebreakNews from the reporting below, checked against official results and rankings.
- WTA — One WTA Finals singles spot remains open: Here's how Karolina Muchova can clinch it
- Ubitennis — Injured Iga Swiatek misses out on automatic WTA Finals spot after Ningbo withdrawal
- BBC Sport — Boulter produces emphatic win at Japan Open (Swiatek ends her season)
- EssentiallySports — No WTA Finals for Iga Swiatek as Ningbo withdrawal sparks injury admission
- Tennis Up To Date — Iga Swiatek will miss the WTA Finals for the first time since 2019