Swiatek's Season Over After Ningbo Exit Ends WTA Finals Bid

Swiatek ends season early due to injury

Iga Swiatek has brought her season to an early close after a persistent left thigh injury forced her to withdraw from the Ningbo Open, ending her hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals.

Iga Swiatek forced to end season early after thigh injury setback...

Iga Swiatek confirms end to her season campaign after left thigh injury rules her out of Ningbo Open, ending hopes of reaching WTA Finals and sealing year without major.

Iga Swiatek ended her season on Tuesday after withdrawing from the Ningbo Open with a thigh injury, a decision that also ended the six-time Grand Slam champion's hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals.

The 25-year-old Pole, who described the campaign as the most demanding of her career, finished the year without a Grand Slam title. Her last major triumph came at last year's Wimbledon.

Swiatek, who has featured in every edition of the WTA Finals since 2021 and won the season-ending championship in 2023, needed to reach at least the quarter-finals in Ningbo to have any chance of overtaking Czech Karolina Muchova for the final qualifying spot.

“After careful consideration, I've decided to withdraw from the tournament,“ Swiatek said in a statement posted on the Ningbo Open's social media.

Get well soon, Iga. ❤️ “After careful consideration, I’ve decided to withdraw from the tournament. I’ve been experiencing an ongoing problem with my left thigh over the past weeks and I feel that giving myself the time to rest and recover is the right decision…” https://t.co/x6xZJmEE36

— Ningbo Open (@wtaningboopen) October 20, 2026

“I've been experiencing an ongoing problem with my left thigh over the past weeks, and I feel that giving myself the time to rest and recover is the right decision.”

The injury also troubled Swiatek during her 7-5, 6-1 semi-final defeat by fellow Pole Maja Chwalinska at last week's Wuhan Open.

Swiatek ends the season with a 39-15 record and one title, at the Canadian Open. She also failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals at any of the four Grand Slams.

“The past few months, or actually the past couple of years, have been incredibly intense, and I feel I need to rest and recover my body fully. So that's ‌exactly what I will do, a bit longer this time.

“I've decided to end my season here, which means I won't ‌be playing any more tournaments this year...

“As always, I'll come back with passion and motivation to keep improving...”

As expected, Iga Swiatek will not travel to Indian Wells to be an alternate. Kostyuk (who can still pass Muchova with two titles) and Jovic are currently in alternate position. Shnaider, Cirstea, Bencic and Eala can all still take one of the alternate spots.

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) October 20, 2026

“This has been one of the most demanding seasons ‌of my career, with a lot of challenges, changes and lessons along the way,“ Swiatek said on social media.

“I'm especially proud of the work we've done in the second half of the year and the progress that came with it. It gives me a lot of confidence in what's ahead.”

The former world number one, who has now dropped to ninth in the rankings, served a short ban in late 2024 after an unintentional doping violation linked to contaminated melatonin, a sleep aid.