Top 20 player makes last-minute withdrawal from the Wuhan Open after losing third match in a row

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The Wuhan Open is the next big tournament on the horizon, but not every top player will be competing at the WTA 1000 event.

Aryna Sabalenka is the defending Wuhan Open champion, and has won the tournament the last three times it has been held.

The world number one will be playing her first tournament since winning the US Open, with Sabalenka withdrawing from the China Open last week.

While the best player in the world will be competing in Wuhan, a top 20 player has quietly pulled out of the tournament.

Daria Kasatkina makes late withdrawal from the Wuhan Open

That player is Daria Kasatkina, the current world number 20 who has been ranked as highly as world number eight.

It has been a busy season for Kasatkina, who switched nationalities to Australia back in March.

However, this has not necessarily translated into results, with Kasatkina only winning 19 of her 41 matches this year.

This includes three consecutive losses, with Kasatkina’s most recent coming against Sonay Kartal at the China Open, where she won just three games.

Kasatkina was then supposed to play at the Wuhan Open, but she has since withdrawn from the WTA 1000 tournament.

As a result, Kasatkina’s late withdrawal now means that she will be replaced by a lucky loser from the qualifying draw.

Kasatkina is currently the world number 20, but she has to defend 500 points at her next tournament of the Ningbo Open, where she won the title last year.

Other withdrawals from the Wuhan Open this year

Kasatkina is far from the only player to have pulled out of this year’s Wuhan Open, as she joins eight other players to have done so.

This list is headlined by Madison Keys, who has missed the entire Asian swing after citing a shoulder injury, and Qinwen Zheng, who had only just come back from an elbow injury.

Some of the other names on the list include Elina Svitolina, Paula Badosa, Barbora Krejcikova and Beatriz Haddad Maia, all of whom have ended their seasons for various reasons.

The Wuhan Open still has a blockbuster lineup, headlined by Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.

Sabalenka will be looking to win her fourth consecutive title at the WTA 1000 tournament when the action gets underway on Monday, October 6.