– My physical condition is not back to normal after the US Open. Unfortunately, I could not come to Seoul. Please understand. We have no choice but to change the schedule. However, I would definitely like to visit Seoul next year and play a great tournament in front of the Korean fans – Iga Świątek (1. WTA) announced on Friday afternoon, informing that she will not play in the WTA 500 tournament in Seoul.
Foreign media react to Iga Świątek's decision regarding the tournament in Seoul
The exodus of the world's top tennis players from the tournament in the capital of South Korea was noticed by foreign media. “The WTA tournament in Seoul is a disaster. Świątek is also withdrawing” – writes puntodebreak.com. Until now, the tournament in Seoul had the WTA 250 rank, but this year it changed to WTA 500 and suddenly none of the world's top tennis players will play in it. The highest seeded will be Daria Kasatkina (13th WTA).
“World No. 1 Iga Świątek withdrew from the Korea Open tennis tournament on Friday, becoming the latest big name to withdraw from South Korea's only WTA event,” writes Yonhap News Agency. The article notes Świątek's words, which she has promised to return to Seoul next year.
“Iga Świątek changes her mind two days after confirming her participation in the next tournament,” we read on Tennis World, referring to the fact that earlier this week the organizers announced that Świątek would play in the tournament in Seoul, and two days later the change was made. “For the organizers, this is another serious blow, because three other players from the top ten – Jelena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro – withdrew from the event earlier,” it added.
“The Korean Open has been thrown into chaos as all four top ten players scheduled to take part have withdrawn,” the British Express reported.
“So Świątek, Pegula, Rybakina and Navarro will not play in the Korea Open. This crazy calendar has to be changed to prevent months like February and September (which are after the Grand Slam tournaments) from being held hostage by the players. Economically unsustainable,” thundered French journalist Benoit Maylin.
There are many indications that Iga Świątek will finally return to play at the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing, which will be played from September 25 to October 6. In the capital of China, she will defend the title she won a year ago, when she defeated Ludmila Samsonova (15th WTA) 6:2, 6:2 in the final.