No. 1 Iga Swiatek latest to pull out of Korea Open

Field Level Media|published: 09/13/2024, 12:12pm EDT

Sept 4 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; Jessica Pegula (USA) (right) after beating Iga Swiatek (POL) on day ten of the 2024 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek on Friday became the latest WTA star to pull out of next week's Korea Open in Seoul.

The five-time Grand Slam winner from Poland cited fatigue as the reason for her withdrawal.

Swiatek is the fifth current or former top-10 player to withdraw, joining defending tournament champion and third-ranked Jessica Pegula, No. 4 Elena Rybakina, No. 8 Emma Navarro and former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova.

Pegula (ribs), Rybakina (back) and Pliskova (foot) are all dealing with injuries, while Navarro cited a change in schedule.

The Korea Open, which begins on Monday, was elevated from a WTA 250 to a WTA 500 event this year. The purse was raised from about $260,000 to $1 million.

With the withdrawals, the players moving into the main draw include former U.S. Open champions Sloane Stephens and Emma Raducanu along with Daria Kasatkina, Beatriz Haddad Maia and Diana Shnaider.

--Field Level Media