World No. 8 Karolina Muchova has withdrawn from the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, due to a right wrist injury and will be replaced by first alternate Maria Sakkari of Greece, tour officials said on Tuesday.
Muchova, of Czechia, was the eighth player to qualify for the season-ending tournament after reaching the Cincinnati final and the US Open semifinal round, losing to Coco Gauff on both occasions.
“Together with the team and doctors we tried everything till the last moment to resolve my wrist injury,” Muchova said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, the time needed for the recovery is longer than we would’ve hoped for and therefore I had to make this unpleasant decision.”
This will be Sakkari’s third consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals; she reached the semifinals a year ago in Fort Worth, Texas, by going 3-0 in round-robin play.
Play in the WTA Finals begins on Sunday.
The other singles players who qualified for the event are No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 2 Iga Swiatek, No. 3 Gauff, No. 4 Elena Rybakina, No. 5 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 Marketa Vondrousova and No. 7 Ons Jabeur.
Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff and Vondrousova won Grand Slam singles titles this season.
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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