Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina lead the unprecedented exodus at the WTA Beijing Open 2024. Besides, 11 other past and present top-10 players, have also withdrawn.
However, the men’s side of the draw has multiple big names such as Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Daniil Medvedev to entertain fans. The WTA is expected to take a massive hit on the viewership due to a long list of withdrawals.
The three-month period after the conclusion of the final Grand Slam of the year – the US Open – often witnesses a massive drop in viewership. Unfortunately, the same continues to be the narrative for the 2024 WTA season.
The list of Withdrawals from the WTA1000 in Beijing is quite something pic.twitter.com/h20anvPy6X
— Myles David (@TunedIntoTennis) September 23, 2024
A list of 12 potential seeded players have chosen to forego the tournament. Defending champion Swiatek used “personal reason” for her decision.
Meanwhile, players such as Rybakina, Danielle Collins, Maria Sakkari, Emma Raducanu, Ons Jabeur, and others are dealing with injuries.
Fans of the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Carolina Garcia, and Marie Bouzkova will be disheartened to learn that neither of the three players even mentioned a reason for their withdrawal.
Reacting to it, some tennis enthusiasts claimed that players were affected by the “end of the year exhaustion.”
The end of the year exhaustion is kicking in
— LeDerius (@LeDerius) September 23, 2024
A larger majority of fans were simply in shock, stating that they’d never seen such a long list of withdrawals ever before.
This is insane… Never seen anything like this.
— Amos Tabane CM(SA) (@RealAmosTabane) September 23, 2024
What in the world!!!!
— Corey (@CoreyMc2g) September 23, 2024
This is A LOT!!!
— Shaunte Taswell (@ShaunteTaswell) September 23, 2024
The draw still has some big and exciting players capable of producing an entertaining week of tennis.
The likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini, Emma Navarro, and Qinwen Zheng will be the frontrunners to win the title.
As the tournament kicks off on 26th September, it’ll be interesting to see which player could end up being a first-time champ in China.
