Iga Swiatek ends 2026 season after Ningbo withdrawal and missed WTA Finals
The six-time Grand Slam champion says she needs more time to rest and recover after withdrawing from the Ningbo Open with a thigh injury.
Iga Swiatek has ended her 2026 tennis season after withdrawing from the Ningbo Open in China on 20 October with a thigh injury and missing qualification for the WTA Finals, BBC Sport reported. The six-time Grand Slam champion said she would take a longer break to rest and recover before returning in 2027.
The WTA reported that Ningbo tournament organisers announced Swiatek’s withdrawal because of a left-thigh injury. It attributed to her a statement that the problem had continued for several weeks. Swiatek said she had looked forward to playing in Ningbo and hoped to return the following year.
Why Swiatek is ending her season
Swiatek described the past few months, and the past couple of years, as ‘incredibly intense’. ‘I feel I need to rest and recover my body fully, so that’s exactly what I will do — [for] a bit longer this time,’ she said, according to BBC Sport. She announced the longer break shortly after withdrawing from Ningbo.
The decision follows her first failure to qualify for the WTA Finals since 2019, BBC Sport reported. Swiatek, a former world number one, has fallen to ninth in the rankings. She ends a season without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2021; her most recent major victory was at Wimbledon last year.
How her 2026 season unfolded
Swiatek won one WTA title this season, at the Canadian Open in August. She did not advance beyond the quarter-finals at any Grand Slam tournament in 2026. The missed WTA Finals place marks another departure from her recent results: she had qualified for the season-ending event every year since 2019.
Her final match was a Wuhan Open semi-final loss on Saturday to fellow Pole Maja Chwalinska. BBC Sport reported that Swiatek received treatment for her thigh during the match but played on. Afterward, she said she was proud of the work and progress made in the second half of the year, adding that it gave her confidence for what lay ahead.
There was also a change in her coaching team: Swiatek split from Wim Fissette in March and subsequently appointed Francisco Roig, a former coach of Rafael Nadal and Emma Raducanu, BBC Sport reported. The Australian Open in January would give Swiatek her next opportunity to complete a career Grand Slam when she returns to competition in 2027.
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Sources and context
- Iga Swiatek: Six-time Grand Slam champion ends 2026 season after failing to qualify for WTA FinalsBBC Sport
- Swiatek withdraws from Ningbo Open with thigh injuryWTA
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.