The 2023 Guadalajara Open hasn’t even started and yet it has already been labelled “the worst WTA 1000 tournament ever”. All this is due to the tsunami of withdrawals from high-profile players. For the first time in history, all of the World’s top 6 won’t be taking part in a WTA 1000 even. Already, 11 of the world’s top 20 withdrew. Will there be more withdrawals? Here is what we know so far.
What are the reasons for all the Guadalajara Open withdrawals?
The penultimate WTA 1000 event of the year is a logistic nightmare for professional tennis players and there is hardly much of a surprise that there has been a wave of withdrawals.
Gruelling North American hard-court summer
The 2023 Guadalajara Open starts on September 17, only a week after the 2023 US Open finished. All of the top players already pushed their bodies and minds to the limits during what was a very busy summer of hard court events in North America. The heat and the long runs most of the top players made in different tournaments means that after the final Grand Slam of the year, they all need more time to recover.
Asian swing
The Tour moves to Asia right at the end of the Guadalajara Open and anyone who plays in that tournament won’t have any time to rest before a series of high-profile tournaments in Asia begin. The importance of those late-in-the-season Asian tournaments is vital for many and naturally, everyone in need of points will focus on those weeks ahead while trying to make the transition to yet another continent as early as possible.
Who has withdrawn already from the Guadalajara Open?
All of the world’s top 6 ranked women already withdrawn. The defending champion Jessica Pegula did that first with a post on social media: “I’m sorry to be missing the @gdlopen this year after so many great memories last year. I loved collecting all the bracelets from the fans,” Pegula wrote on her Instagram story.
The two US Open finalists Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka, also the new world number 1, expectedly pulled out of the tournament too. Both used up huge amounts of energy in New York and the long journey to Guadalajara was never on the cards for them.
The world number 2 Iga Swiatek also pulled out recently via a social media post:
— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) September 13, 2023
The world number 4 Rybakina has been having health problems all summer and she never planned to travel either. This means that the world number 7 Ons Jabeur is the highest-seeded player who is still playing.
There are many other Guadalajara Open withdrawals and only 9 of the world’s top 20 are scheduled to take part. Here is the full list of those that have withdrawn already:
players missing WTA Guadalajara 1000: (so far)
??Swiatek
??Sabalenka
??Gauff
??Rybakina
??Pegula
??Vondrousova
??Muchova
??Kvitova
??Krejcikova
??Svitolina
??Samsonova
??Vekic
??Zheng
??Linette
??Cirstea
??Martic
??Zhu
??Wang
??Noskova
??Blinkova
??Gracheva
??Tsurenko
??SST— Haddad Maia Toronto 2022 Champion (@svitokaya) September 13, 2023
With the organisers set for a huge blow regarding spectators’ numbers some fans already rushed to label the 2023 Guadalajara Open the worst WTA 1000 event ever. Many even compared the entry list as suitable for a WTA 250 event. All that said, the players who have made the effort to attend suddenly can jump up the rankings as there will be big points for grabs from anyone willing to fight for them.
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