World No. 23 Qinwen Zheng has withdrawn from the Wuhan Open, her home tournament, citing a right shoulder injury. The decision comes just days after she lifted her maiden WTA 1000 title on home soil in Beijing on Sunday, beating fourth seed Mirra Andreeva 7-5 6-4.
Struggles and resurgence
Zheng has endured a difficult period, struggling to find form after undergoing elbow surgery last year. She dropped out of the top 160 in June before rediscovering her best tennis in recent weeks. Zheng came through qualifying to reach the US Open quarter-finals and then entered the China Open in Beijing as the world No. 54, almost halving her ranking as she stormed to the title.
The newly-crowned Beijing champion was expected to head straight to Wuhan, another home tournament, where she reached her first WTA 1000 final in 2024. However, she pulled out shortly after beating Andreeva, who has also since withdrawn from the Wuhan Open.
Zheng's statement
Zheng has now addressed her last-minute withdrawal in a statement, saying: “I’m very sorry to share that I will be withdrawing from this year’s Wuhan Open. Wuhan is where my tennis dream began, and the Wuhan Open is also where I made my breakthrough at the WTA 1000 level. I have always looked forward to competing in front of my hometown fans.
“Since returning from injury, however, I have played a demanding stretch of tennis over the past month and a half, competing at the US Open, the Billie Jean King Cup, and the China Open. My body is feeling very fatigued after this intense run of matches.
“I look forward to returning to the Wuhan Open next year and stepping onto the court in my best possible form!”
Other withdrawals and draw changes
Zheng and Andreeva – who did not give a statement but pulled out citing a change in schedule – are not the only big names to miss the Wuhan Open. Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff both announced their withdrawals in the lead-up to the event.
Two other players have also pulled out since the draw was made over the weekend – Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, and Ukrainian ace Oleksandra Oliynykova. It means a total of four lucky losers have made it into the main draw.
The top 16 players in Wuhan are meant to be seeded, with the top eight receiving byes directly into round two. When Noskova pulled out on Sunday, ninth seed Belinda Bencic took her spot in the draw and got a bye instead. Following Andreeva’s withdrawal, 10th seed Iva Jovic has taken up her position, also receiving a bye into the second round.
