The North American hard court swing is underway, and with the first WTA 1000 of the swing coming up, most of the Tour is preparing to play. There have been eight withdrawals from Toronto, though, with eight more players avoiding qualifying to make the main draw.
WTA Toronto Withdrawals
Which Players Have Withdrawn from Toronto?
Defending champion Victoria Mboko picked up a knee injury during grass season that kept her out for the rest of the swing and will keep her out of her home tournament as well. Mboko has done well to back up her stellar title run and shouldn’t fall too far in the rankings, but missing WTA Toronto is still a crushing blow for her. Hailey Baptiste, also working through a knee injury, will miss this tournament as part of a larger extended absence from the Tour.
Wimbledon finalist Karolina Muchova won’t be continuing the momentum of her impressive grass season as she recently had surgery and won’t be able to compete at WTA Toronto. Muchova, a proven all-surface player, has made the final in Cincinnati, the second half of this tournament pairing, but will have to wait to showcase her hard court skills as her injury problems continue.
Due to her ongoing foot injury, Jasmine Paolini will also miss WTA Toronto, having withdrawn from Washington the previous week. Emma Raducanu, once again struggling with injuries, is unable to compete as well.
Laura Siegemund and Dayana Yastremska, who haven’t played since Wimbledon, have withdrawn from Toronto along with Petra Marcinko, who played a handful of matches in the final few clay tournaments of the year.
Who Replaced Those Players in the Main Draw?
Due to Mboko’s withdrawal, Karolina Pliskova gained direct entry into the main draw. Pliskova has been having a decent season, including a quarterfinal run in Madrid, and is certainly still playing at a high level.
Tamara Korpatsch, who just won the title in Hamburg, is replacing Paolini and will face off against fellow alternate Renata Zarazua in the first round. Zarazua entered the main draw due to Yastremska’s withdrawal and is coming off a strong week in Memphis. Anna Bondar, who Korpatsch faced in the Hamburg final, is also an alternate, replacing Baptiste.
Replacing Muchova is Taylor Townsend, who is uncharacteristically not on the doubles entry list as well. Focusing on singles at this tournament, Townsend will avoid qualifying and play the up-and-coming Tereza Valentova in the first round.
Eva Lys, who was set to play in Prague but withdrew, will start her hard court swing in Toronto as she takes Raducanu’s place in the main draw. Lys is in danger of falling out of the top 100, currently at #97 in the year-to-date race rankings, and could use a run here. Wang Xiyu, replacing Siegemund, is in a similar situation, sitting at #104 on the year.
Rounding out the withdrawals is Alycia Parks, entering the main draw on Marcinko’s withdrawal.
Main photo credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images
