"She was sick for 10 days" - Belinda Bencic missing out on WTA Finals qualification blamed on severe food poisoning from Mexico trip

Having skipped the Asian leg of the WTA tour, Belinda Bencic is set to miss out on qualifying for the WTA Finals.

Bencic was last seen in action at the San Diego Open in early September, where she lost 3-6, 6-3, 2-6 to qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round to make an early exit from the event.

The Swiss player was supposed to take part in the Guadalajara Open later, where she was set to face Taylor Townsend in the opening round. However, she withdrew from the event before it began.

Later, Bencic also decided to skip the entire Asia leg of the WTA tour, with her management now revealing that the reason behind it was her suffering severe food poisoning in Mexico.

"She was sick for 10 days and lost a good part of her fitness. The China tour therefore came too early," her management told Keystone-SDA.

This has also meant that Bencic has no chance of qualifying for the WTA Finals, which are being held in Cancun, Mexico, this year.

Bencic is sitting at the No. 11 spot in the Race to the WTA Finals with 2,571 points. The Race Leaderboard tabulates points only earned in the current season. With the likes of Ons Jabeur, Madison Keys and Petra Kvitova set to take part in the Zhengzhou Open, they will likely take the final available spot in the top eight.

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Belinda Bencic's 2023 season: A quick recap

Belinda Bencic in action at the 2023 US Open.

Belinda Bencic began her 2023 season on a strong note, by winning Adelaide 2 title by defeating top-10 players like Caroline Garcia and Daria Kasatkina along the way.

After making a Round-of-16 exit at the Australian Open at the hands of eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka, she bounced back at the Abu Dhabi Open, beating Beatriz Haddad Maia in the final.

Her other notable performance this year was a runner-up finish at the Charleston Open, where she beat the likes of Katherine Sebov, Shelby Rogers, Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Jessica Pegula before losing to Ons Jabeur.

Bencic's 2023 campaign has not been injury-free, as a hip issue saw her skip most of the European clay season. She did bounce back during the grass season and came close to causing an upset at the Wimbledon Championships when she held a match point against Iga Swiatek.

In the North American hardcourt swing, she has two quarterfinal appearances to her name, at the Citi Open and the Canadian Open. She then put together a Round-of-16 run at the US Open in New York.

The 26-year-old's season looks likely to have ended at the San Diego Open.