Iga Swiatek vs Aryna Sabalenka year-end World No. 1 fight: Update after Pole's Wuhan Open withdrawal and US Open champ's China Open exit
Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are engaged in a battle for the WTA year-end World No. 1 spot. These two top-ranked players in the women's division are separated by 1069 points heading into the last few tournaments of the season.
The Asian swing will play a decisive role in cementing the year-end World No. 1 status for either Swiatek or Sabalenka. Iga Swiatek looked set to end the year as the top-ranked player in the WTA rankings, however, her recent withdrawal from the China Open and Wuhan Open has left the race for the year-end World No. 1 open.
Swiatek is currently on 9,785 points and leads Sabalenka, who is in second place (8716 points), by just over 1000 points. However, the Belarusian could cut the gap down to just 69 points if she manages to defend her title at the Wuhan Open. She will start the tournament as the top seed after Swiatek's withdrawal.
Sabalenka had the chance to close the gap on Swiatek during the China Open, but the World No. 2 failed to grab the opportunity as she was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Karolina Muchova. Now, with another opportunity, at the Wuhan Open, she will be keen to become the first-ever three-time winner at Wuhan.
A title win, as the defending champion, will draw Sabalenka closer to Swiatek with the last few tournaments of the year remaining. They could both feature in the Tokyo WTA 500 tournament, later in the month, before their WTA Finals showdown in early November in Riyadh.
Swiatek last played competitive tennis at the US Open and has yet to take to the court since then. Recently, the Polish star announced that she has parted ways with her long-time coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, and took some time off tennis. Her withdrawal from the Asian swing has opened the door for Sabalenka in the race for the year-end World No.1 spot.
Swiatek and Sabalenka have qualified for the WTA Finals in Riyadh with Swiatek being the defending champion.
Iga Swiatek announces split with her long-time coach Tomasz Wiktorowski and withdraws from the Chinese leg of the season
Iga Swiatek announced that she has parted ways with her coach of three years after the US Open. The Pole withdrew from the China Open citing 'personal reasons' before announcing she wouldn't participate at the Wuhan Open after splitting up with her coach.
Swiatek published an official statement on her social media account, thanking her former coach. The Polish star added that some of the best achievements of her career came while working with Wiktorowski. In the same statement, she announced her withdrawal from the Wuhan Open.
“After 3 years of the greatest achievements in my career, together with my coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, we decided to part ways. I want to start with a big thank you and appreciating for our work together. After an important change in my sports team, I decided to withdraw from the tournament in Wuhan,” Swiatek said in her statement.
Tomasz Wiktorowski coached Swiatek to four of her five Grand Slam wins, including three French Open titles and a US Open triumph. The Polish star dominated women's tennis during her partnership with Wiktorowski as she spent 123 weeks as the World No. 1.
19 out of Swiatek's 22 WTA titles came during the Swiatek-Wiktorowski partnership. She is yet to announce her new coach.