Iga Swiatek has officially concluded her 2026 season following her withdrawal from the Ningbo Open. The six-time Grand Slam champion cited a persistent issue with her left thigh, an injury that had hampered her performance during a recent 7-5, 6-1 semi-final loss to Maja Chwalinska at the Wuhan Open. By opting out of the tournament in Ningbo, Swiatek also relinquished her mathematical chance to displace Karolina Muchova for the final qualifying spot at the upcoming WTA Finals. A bit longer this time, so that’s exactly what I will do.
Reflecting on the decision, the 25-year-old stated that she has struggled with the thigh problem for several weeks. “After careful consideration, I’ve decided to withdraw from the tournament,” Swiatek noted in a statement released on social media.
She emphasized that prioritizing rest and bodily recovery is the correct path forward after what she described as one of the most demanding years of her professional career. The Polish star, who has participated in every WTA Finals event since 2021 and secured the title in 2023, confirmed she will not compete in any further tournaments for the remainder of the calendar year. It gives me a lot of confidence in what’s ahead. Which means I won’t be playing any more tournaments this year, i’ve decided to end my season here.
Swiatek finishes the season with a 39-15 record and a single title at the Canadian Open. The former world number one, who has dropped to ninth in the current rankings, faced a challenging campaign that included no Grand Slam titles and a failure to advance beyond the quarter-final stage at any of the four major championships. She previously served a short suspension in late 2024 resulting from an inadvertent doping violation involving contaminated melatonin.
Despite the setbacks, Swiatek expressed pride in the progress achieved during the latter half of the season. “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,” she explained. She remains optimistic about her future prospects, telling fans, “As always, I’ll come back with passion and motivation to keep improving.” I’m especially proud of the work we’ve done in the second half of the year and the progress that came with it.
