2023 has been extremely successful for Coco Gauff. The 5ft 9in Atlanta resident had won WTA titles in Auckland, Washington and Cincinnati before she went on her greatest run ever in New York, where she defeated world no.1 Aryna Sabalenka to be crowned US Open champion.
Her stellar run since her Wimbledon exit has been quite a turnaround of fortunes for Coco, and she deserved every bit of rest she could get in the buildup to the year-end Masters 1000 tournaments. As she remains in China after the Beijing Open, we shall look at why Coco withdrew from the Zhengzhou Open.
Why is Coco Gauff withdrawing from Zhengzhou Open?
The WTA 500 tournament in China is one of the series of events happening in the middle kingdom, as part of the Asian leg of hardcourt events. A semifinal loss to Iga Swiatek in the China Open left Coco Gauff facing one of her few roadblocks in the past few months.
As and when the Masters 1000 events concluded, players flew over 700 kms to Zhengzhou in the mid-eastern part of the country to battle it out for 470 points and $120,150 in cash prize as the winner of the women’s only Zhengzhou Open.
Unfortunately for Coco Gauff, and her aspirations to build on her new world no.3 ranking, she withdrew from the tournament as it commenced. The reasons are injury and fatigue, as a hard fought fortnight in the Flushing Meadows would have drained her physically and mentally, as would the subsequent media attention occupy most of her free time. Also, she is suffering an affliction to her right shoulder.
Coco Gauff addressed her fans in Zhenghzou in a video, but that post was posted prematurely as she withdrew soon after.
Nevertheless, her visit to China has received plaudits for various circles for her quick turnaround from recuperation. But, as with top players bemoaning scheduling in tennis as being too hard on players, Coco Gauff would have yearned for a much deserved break for the game.
Which other players are pulling out of the Zhengzhou Open?
The stress of scheduling hasn’t affected Coco Gauff alone. A host of other top players flew out of China in an attempt to salvage any energy they possessed.
Elena Rybakina (lower back injury) and Karolina Muchova (continuing right wrist injury) have dropped out of the tournament, in a quest to recover and come back for further events as soon as possible.
In the mix of the main draw are top seed and Guadalajara champion Maria Sakkari, Ningbo champion Ons Jabeur, San Diego champion Barbora Krejcikova and Tokyo champion Veronika Kudermetova.
Also playing are Beijing finalist Liudmila Samsonova, Asian Games gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, and Beijing quarterfinalist Caroline Garcia.
Top ranked players Aryna Sabalenka(China Open semifinalist) and Iga Swiatek(China Open winner) did not have the time to make the trip to Zhengzhou.
Besides the winner, the finalist will receive $74,161 in cash prize, the semifinalists $43,322 and the quarterfinalists $21,075. A second round exit sees players earn 1 WTA point but it goes up further to 305 for the runner up and 470 for the winner.
Will Coco Gauff recover from her injury and fatigue to play out the rest of the season, as important Masters 1000 tournaments are in the fold? Let us know in the comments section below.
