Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️
Today’s tennis mood: Relieved Coco made a good decision for herself and not ready for all this Australian Open talk.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 On tap: In Beijing, where it feels like the tournament has been going on forever, the women are into day two of the quarterfinals. And at the Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, the men are moving into the second round. In action: Iga Swiatek, Qinwen Zheng, Matteo Berrettini, Novak Djokovic, Frances Tiafoe, and Ben Shelton, among others. More on all of that below.
🎾 Skipping Wuhan: That’s Coco Gauff, who has pulled out of the WTA 1000 in Wuhan next week, where she is the defending champ. The decision to withdraw from the final 1000 event of the year comes after a few days of dealing with online hate and a match in which she said she was unwell during play, telling her camp: “I have no energy. I’m trying, I have no energy. I can’t see the ball, I feel like I’m going to pass out. I’m going to just try to finish the match.”
What she said: “I’m disappointed to withdraw from Wuhan, especially as the defending champion. I always love playing there. After a long year, my body needs some time to rest and recover. I look forward to returning next year,” Gauff wrote.
By the numbers: As defending champion, withdrawing from Wuhan means Gauff will lose the 1000 points from last year. That has already put her down a spot and pushed Mirra Andreeva up in the live rankings.
Next: Gauff is set to be back competing in exactly one month at the year-end WTA Tour Finals. That will be followed by her efforts to get Team USA back into the mix during Billie Jean King Cup Playoffs against Hungary in her hometown, Delray Beach. And, of course, that leads into another team competition, as she takes on her dual role of player and owner during the revamped World Team Tennis in December.
🎾 One to watch: Qinwen Zheng vs. Elina Svitolina (Quarterfinals - WTA 1000 - Beijing): Watch this one because somehow these two super competitors have never faced each other.
The record: This will be the first time Qinwen Zheng and Elina Svitolina play each other.
On the line: Svitolina is the next player in line to qualify for the WTA Tour Finals, so a win here would go a long way toward securing her spot. Meanwhile, Zheng is on a solid streak, starting with reaching the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open and now the quarterfinals of Beijing during a difficult comeback year from injury.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 57% of you called for Iga Swiatek to defeat Iva Jovic. Swiatek won 6-1, 6-3.)
And that’s game.
