"I hope Iga Swiatek’s okay"; "Aryna Sabalenka, this is your chance" - Fans react to Pole withdrawing from China Open citing 'personal matters'

Fans have reacted to Iga Swiatek withdrawing from the China Open in Beijing, citing "personal matters." The Polish star, who was the defending champion, apologized for not being able to participate in the tournament this year.

Swiatek has had a busy season, winning five titles. However, since her French Open triumph in June, the Pole has withdrawn from several events and spoken about the challenges of managing the demanding schedule.

After her quarterfinal exit at the US Open, Swiatek, like many other top WTA stars, withdrew from the Korea Open. However, the World No. 1 is one of the few top players to withdraw from the China Open, a WTA 1000 event. In a statement released by the WTA, Swiatek said:

"Due to personal matters, I’m forced to withdraw from the China Open 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."

The WTA's official X (formerly Twitter) account posted about Swiatek's withdrawal and many fans expressed their concern for the Pole.

"I will miss you a lot, but you being okay is the most important thing, take care, remember, we will always support and love you 🥹❤️" one fan wrote.

"No this is insane😭😭😭I hope she’s ok😭😭" another fan wrote.

"I hope that she’s okay :( lot’s of love," a third fan commented.

Here are some more fans reacting to Iga Swiatek's withdrawal from the China Open, with one fan claiming that this could be an opportunity for Aryna Sabalenka to catch up to the Pole in the WTA rankings.

"Oh Aryna don't you dare mucking it up again," one fan wrote.

"Oh well aryna this is your chance to close that gap massively in the rankings," another added.

"Iga withdrawing on 2 tournaments back to back oh @lenarybakina what did you do," yet another fan wrote.

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Aside from Iga Swiatek & Maria Sakkari, the WTA Top 10 set to compete at the China Open 2024

Iga Swiatek with the 2023 China Open trophy (Image: Getty)

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and World No. 9 Maria Sakkari (shoulder injury) are currently the only players from the WTA Top 10 who will not be competing at the 2024 China Open.

The rest of the Top 10 including Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, Elena Rybakina, Jasmine Paolini, Coco Gauff, Qinwen Zheng, Emma Navarro, and Danielle Collins are all expected to compete in Beijing.

US Open champion Sabalenka has the opportunity to cut down Swiatek's lead to just over 100 points if she manages to win the China Open. A win can also help the Belarusian topple the Pole from the top spot in the WTA Race to Riyadh.